


Return of The Nightmare King

by Nyreena26



Category: Danny Phantom, Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Crossover, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-04
Updated: 2014-10-04
Packaged: 2018-02-19 19:53:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 27,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2400893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nyreena26/pseuds/Nyreena26
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A portal, a princess, legendary beings, Team Phantom, and the Bogeyman with a new scheme that could actually give him the victory that he so desperately wants. Or could give way to a much more powerful destiny.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Most Interesting Discovery

It had been a few months since Pitch, also known as the Bogeyman, had been defeated by the Guardians: North or known to us as Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, the Sandman, and the newest addition the former rebel spirit Jack Frost, the Guardian of Fun. After being dragged away by his own Nightmares, who had sensed his fear and turned on him, then sealed away in his underground cavern he had been trying to find a way to get back out into the outside world to exact his revenge against his enemies and so far he had absolutely no luck in finding one. For days his search turned up no leads and he was just about ready to give up altogether when one day he was brooding in his now usual sulk walking around the many complex tunnels that ran all over the place, passing up a certain passageway when an unusual green glow caught his attention, making him turn back and step inside. Following the path all the way down he suddenly stopped in his tracks the object before him puzzling him quite a bit. Sitting in front of evildoer was a large swirling green, portal perfectly round in size and fitting the radius of the cavern just right, with no clue as to how it got there. Getting rather curious the Nightmare King summoned a few of his still loyal creatures he slowly approached the gate and eased his hand through then quickly pulled it back, just in case something might have affected it or if something was waiting on the other side to attack. Seeing that neither had happened the Bogeyman cautiously stepped through with his minions following right behind, everyone instantly being transported across dimensions to one known as the Ghost Zone, the realm of all the ghosts of another Earth the two sharing a thin barrier of reality.

Entering from the other side the Nightmare King found that he was walking into a hallway of some sorts, not knowing that he was in fact in the corridor of an old red castle that was once three castles that hasn’t seen a ruler in what must be ages and ages ago. As the entourage traversed throughout the centuries-old stone manor Pitch was beginning to feel stronger and more like himself which raised his curiosity a few more levels. As his powers continued to grow he was starting to figure that he was drawing his strength from the darkness and the fear that the place must be holding onto, meaning that this place was used for great evil to which he figured he could use for his future schemes. Turning into another hall there was something different about the scene: a slit of light coming from an ajar door down the way. Getting even more curious he slowly approached the cracked entryway and gently opened it further and stepped in seeing the messy sight before him. All around the room were scattered books, papers, and scrolls all piled high around a desk with a large candle in a heavy brass candlestick on it in the middle of the space. And behind the piece of oak furniture was a young woman with her head down on the tabletop fast asleep from the constant studying and research she had been doing nonstop. Looking the girl over the Bogeyman wondered what she was doing there in the first place when the glint of the three-pronged tiara that was set in her hair gave him the clue that she was probably an inhabitant of the castle and simply fell asleep while working on whatever it was she was working on.

His inquisitiveness knowing no bounds the dimension traveler touched her temple and quickly slipped into her dreams, then delved deeper into her memories learning everything that happened to her in the past, including her darkest fears and nightmares which surprised him by how horrific they were. Searching for more he had no idea that his meddling was slowly starting to wake the princess up from her sound slumber. Once he realized what he was doing Pitch quickly retreated back out and ducked into the shadows just as she woke up. Leaning up and stretching a bit Nyreena Dark, the long lost crown princess of the realm and the only daughter of the last king Lord Pariah Dark, looked around with a glazed look in her eyes wondering how long she had been out when she looked down and noticed something different about her desk. Littering the entire space was black sand which was definitely something that wasn’t there when she dozed off. Brushing some into her hand and examining it the ghost began to get an uneasy feeling in her gut saying that someone or something was there besides her that wasn’t supposed to be. Getting up and looking around the room she couldn’t find a trace of the unwanted presence but she wasn’t going to give up that quick. Lighting up one of her hands with her familiar medium blue flames she started to check the dark corners of the chamber when behind her a whoosh flew by causing her to spin around and see what it was, only to find nothing there.

Knowing that she heard something the princess took to the air and flew out to the hallway letting her senses take the lead following them throughout the castle right into the throne room where she landed and scoped the place with her vision wondering why her instincts brought her all the way here. Taking a few steps towards the throne she looked down and started to think of how to find the sound when out of the blue several clouds of the same black sand came shooting out of the dark corners of the great hall, smacking into her at all angles making spin around while getting hit in the head, gut, knees, and legs and lose her strength at the same time. Suddenly stopping just like began she fell to the floor struggling to try to get back up and face her attackers she just couldn’t do it the force of the onslaught proving too much to take. Doing her best to stay conscious the princess’s last memory before finally blacking out was the figure of a gray skinned man in black attire and piercing yellow eyes walking up and standing before her, his voice ringing through her ears saying the he wanted to have a little chat with her.


	2. The Mission That Changes Everything

Far above in the icy terrain of the North Pole there sits a fortress, a beautiful Russian palace, hidden away in frozen mountain that holds a complex structure of levels and rooms, made to house the operations of the Guardian of Wonder known as Nicholas St. North or to his believers as Santa Claus. It was that time of year for him to finish preparing all the toys that his yetis had been making for months and getting his sleigh prepped for his single night flight all over the world. Knowing that he was falling behind the leader of the team had called in his friends and comrades in defending the children of the Earth: Sanderson Mansnoozie or to mortals as the Sandman, Sandy by his friends and the Guardian of Dreams, E. Aster Bunnymund the Easter Bunny or Bunny and the Guardian of Hope, Toothiana the Tooth Fairy or Tooth and the Guardian of Memories, and the newest member the mischievous winter spirit Jack Frost the Guardian of Fun. At first he wasn’t into the roles and responsibilities of what he has now but with the help from his friends, and the memories in his baby teeth, he accepted the role he was destined for and found that he could still keep his rebel nature, only tuned down a bit for his duties. Once they arrived and saw what needed to be done the four guests got right to work either helping the yetis construct the toys, decorate them, keep the elves from causing too much trouble, or just chatting with their bearded companion. However, they had no clue that coming out of a swirling green portal was the master of time known as Clockwork that was known to almost all of the Guardians but was rarely seen due to his job watching the timelines to ensure they run smoothly as possible. The first person to notice him was Jack who was floating around bored from nothing to do at the moment and had seen a blur of purple go by the corner of his eye and was quickly curious about what it was.

Flying down into the Globe Room he watched as the phantom entered while the others sensed the eternal being arrive and gathered to greet him. Walking towards him North said, “Clockwork, old friend! It's been long time since your last visit. What was it 63 years ago or so?”

“About that but it's not the reason why I have come back after so long,” Clockwork agreed but needed to push things along before things began to unravel too much. “My friends, I’m afraid something has crossed into my dimension and is starting to create chaos across it. I do not know how it managed to come in but it is upsetting the balance to an extreme rate. However the only clue that is present at the moment is the increased level of fear that is continuing to rise feverishly.”

Only having to hear the word fear Jack gripped his staff a bit tighter and growled, “Pitch. It has to be Pitch that’s doing this. Who else can bring fear everywhere he goes?”

“But I thought Pitch was sealed away by his own Nightmares,” Tooth suggested remembering what happened to their enemy. 

Shifting to his elderly form Clockwork commented, “Apparently there was a portal that he discovered that let him into my world. And if he stepped into a place that I fear he will get stronger in and by that it could possibly mean that both our worlds are in great danger.”

Once again changing, this time into his child version, he instructed, “You all must come to my tower in the Ghost Zone to devise a strategy to stop any possible futures from existing. When it is time I will open a portal in front of the globe for you to enter. Until then my friends.”

With that a gateway appeared behind him and the master of time floated through the passage quickly disappearing just as fast as it showed up. Watching him depart the five looked at each other, uncertain of what they had to do to prevent their nemesis from taking his revenge once more. Getting themselves prepared to leave it was only a short time later when the annouced opening appeared and the quintet leapt through, arriving in the new dimension and saw that their ally had invited another team, their appearance baffling them quite a bit, especially the one dressed in a weird black and white suit with a strange symbol on his chest.

*****

After leaving the Pole the time controller traversed dimensions and entered the skies of Amity Park, Illinois the home of the city’s ghostly hero Danny Phantom or regularly known as Danny Fenton the son of Jack and Maddie Fenton, two ghost hunters who created the Fenton Portal that gave young halfa his powers. On that day he and two of his three best friends Sam Manson and Tucker Foley were hanging out at the Nasty Burger enjoying their afternoon when suddenly to their confusion everything stopped moving, including them. Quickly finding who he was looking for Clockwork pressed the button on his staff while saying, “Time out!,” then pulling out three time medallions and placing them around the teens’ necks pulling them out of time so that he could talk to them in privacy. The power doing its work the three suddenly found themselves moving again and instantly knew what was going on. Danny seeing the enigma beside him he turned to looked at the timekeeper and asked, “Alright, Clockwork. What did I do wrong now that might mess up the future in the process?”

“Fortunately for once this visit does not have to deal with that,” Clockwork disagreed. “Although if you do not help in the mission I have for you it may as well be.”

Catching their attention with that remark he continued, “As you all know Nyreena is staying in her family's castle to learn more about her heritage so that she can better understand what she needs to do to correct the mistakes made by her father so long ago. Unfortunately, something has crossed over into the Ghost Zone that is creating panic, chaos, and fear across the dimension which has taken her prisoner. Whatever he is planning I cannot explain at the moment, as it is my place not to reveal certain points in the future, but if all of you will meet me in my tower I can explain in more detail. I will open a portal in Danny's room so that it won’t be easily discovered, even by the hunters’ technology, and be a bit more private. Until then young ones. Time in!”

Quickly disappearing through his own gateway the timeline quickly resumed, the medallions fading away as well while everything began moving again. Seeing the need to get over to FentonWorks as quickly as possible so they wouldn’t miss the passage to the Clocktower the trio dumped their trash into the nearest receptacle and made their way to the ghostly hero’s house, the only one with a giant ops center bolted onto it. Entering the house they quickly jogged up the stairs into the room in question and gathered any necessary supplies they might need for this trip. Triple-checking over everything just to be sure there was a glow behind them that meant it was time get going. Summoning the familiar white ring that split up and town transforming him him into his powered counterpart the halfa and the two humans jumped right in appearing in the familar giant room that held the various screens that viewed different timelines and such. However it wasn't the screens that threw them it was the keeper of the timelines’s other guests that threw them for a humongous loop.


	3. A Nightmare of A Deal

A few hours later after being attacked by the clouds of black shadows and falling to the floor unconscious Nyreena was finally coming around, slowly waking up and blinking a couple of times to get her vision to clear up and see what was going on. Looking around her the princess saw that she was surrounded by strange creatures made of black sand, something that she had never seen before. Which was weird, since they all looked oddly familiar to her at the exact same time. Feeling her upper body being restrained she found out that she was chained in the same substances the beings circling her were made of. Then her attention was distracted from the mystery when the corner of her eye saw something sitting in her father’s throne and snapped her eyes into its direction, instantly becoming furious at who was sitting in it. Watching her the entire time, from the attack to the imprisonment to now, with his head propped up in his right hand Pitch was relaxing in the the oak and horn-adorned throne his face etched with a cool, calm expression like there was nothing wrong. 

Her eyes glowing brighter than ever before, her rage and anger boiling to exponential levels, she growled, “Alright, just who in the Zone are you, what are you even doing here, why did you capture me, and... just how did you get into the Zone in the first place?”

Listening to her demands, even grinning a little at the last one that was more out of curiosity, the Nightmare King got up out of the chair, descended the short flight of steps, and circled around the captors and the captured, explaining in a toned voice that matched his ever calm expression, “You know, it’s quite a little conundrum to me myself. As I was brooding about my lair trying to figure out a new plan to destroy my enemies when I discovered a strange green glow inside one of my tunnels and I found to my surprise a strange portal had opened inside of it. Bringing a few of my minions along we stepped inside and found ourselves in a hallway of this quite of a majestic place. I was also surprised to find how much fear and darkness this place holds onto, which by the way benefits me perfectly for my needs, then I come upon something even more interesting that sparked my interest. It was candlelit room with quite the mess in it and a young woman, you of course, fast asleep on the desk and what’s to say that I won’t get curious about what she is dreaming about. And what I find to my wondrous amazement is probably the most horrific fears and nightmares I have ever seen in my entire existence. And well, you remember the rest right up to the point of you blacking out of course.”

Hearing the explanation Nyreena was just about ready to cut in and ask what was the point of drawing out the answer when the part about him finding out her darkest secrets made her stop and think about who this guy really was. Able to know peoples’ worst fears and nightmares, gets his power from fear and the darkness of the shadows-wait. No, it couldn’t be. It just couldn't be. Looking right at him she revealed, “You're-you're the Bogeyman.”

“Well, it seems that we have a believer here after all,” Black surmised, once again surprised by this revelation.

“I don’t believe in you if that’s what you’re getting at,” Nyreena pointed out, struggling a bit at her bonds. “I just know what you're capable of ever since my parents told me about you when I was a little girl. That and there's no veil of belief that exists here in this dimension. It's the reason why I can see you with having to believe in you. It doesn't really matter anyway because if you don't release me right now you are going to fear something worse than yourself.”

“Oh, really?,” Pitch inquired, playing along. “And what would that be.”

Smirking in confident satisfaction she answered, “You’ll just have to see for yourself. Soldiers, rise and defend your leader! Show him your true powers!”

Letting a few seconds pass to let her forces come to her rescue Nyreena was starting to get worried when not a single one showed up. Looking around in a bit of a panicked state it added fuel to the Pitch's fire as he began to chuckle darkly and pointed out, “You may not have quite figured it out yet but I’ve made a few changes to your guard while you were passed out.”

Getting a confused look on her face she looked at the things surrounding her at all sides and slowly recognized the structure and the faces of her own warriors. Her eyes starting to grow wide with fear and anxiety as she began to understand what was really going on the princess knew that she was on her own at that moment and figured that she had to do everything she could to escape and expel this intruder and the traitors for good. Really making an effort to escape, easily trying to phase out of the chains intangibily but found that to be impossible for some strange reason, she tried everything she could think of break the bonds that secured her tight. Scowling at the poor performance Pitch snapped his fingers and a split-second later the black sand restraints lit up with bright blue electricity, the same power that the prisoner possessed, which made Nyreena immediately stop and scream in agony at how bad it hurt. Letting the torture continue for a good few minutes the Bogeyman snapped his fingers again and the crackling light ceased. Severely weak and and seething in pain she slumped forward and quietly began to cry, unable to fathom that somebody could manipulate her powers like that in such a fashion.  
Seeing that she was vulnerable for the next part of his scheme the Nightmare King walked up to her, stooped down and propped her up the chin and warned, “Now, if you don't want a double dose of that you listen to me and pay attention to what I have to say. As of right now I’m in charge of your armies and I will take great pleasure of plunging this world into eternal chaos and fear and blame it all on you if you do not follow my command and work for me to see that my goals and plans come true. And if even try to double cross me in any shape or form I will take even greater pleasure of unleashing your worst fears and nightmares, making every one of them come true before your eyes. So, will you join me in bringing revenge against the Guardians or suffer an endless pain from which there is no escape?”

Looking into the being's silver-yellow orbs and trying to think of how to escape this (to mind the term) nightmare all she could see was only one option. The option of survival. Slowly nodding in agreement she barely spoke, “I will comply. I will do whatever you say but please leave the Zone out of your plans. I don’t want anyone existing here getting hurt because of this.”

“Of course,” he agreed, leaning up and backing away a bit. “Anything to help you be at ease throughout this.”

Snapping his fingers again the chains fell away into nothing as if they were barely restraining anything at all. Standing up and rubbing her arms to get them feeling back to normal her new master motioned for her to raise her right one and grasping it he formed a gauntlet around her lower arm with its purpose to control his newly acquired forces. Letting her look it over for a few moments he instructs the heir, “Now, follow me, it’s time to return home. There’s a few plans to brew once we arrive.”

Taking the lead Pitch lead his new servant and new skeletal Nightmares back to the portal, stepping through back into the tunnel in which it originated. Walking back to the main room dotted with cages, bridges, and the hollow Globe Nyreena's heart slipped down even further into her gut, even with her psychic abilities wasn't able to calculate the magnitude of a world that she had just stepped into. The only thing she knew was that from that moment on she was in the full control of the Nightmare King and there was no going back.


	4. Two Forces Uniting for A Single Cause

After stepping through the portal that led to Clockwork’s tower Team Phantom were suddenly face to face with the mythical figures of their childhood: Santa Claus, the Sandman, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and Jack Frost. But certainly not the way they expected them to look. The toymaker was dressed like a Russian, the dream bringer being a short almost round man with a wispy hairdo, the tooth collector looking like a hummingbird humanoid, the Pooka standing well over six to seven feet tall with boomerangs strapped to his back and leather bracers on his arms, and the winter manipulator looking just like a regular teen except for the fact that his hoodie was covered in frost and walked around on his bare feet. And it was certainly almost the same reaction with the Guardians but with a slight twist. Across from them another portal appeared and in stepped three teenagers one of them dressed in shades of purple, green, and black and a sense of a self independance about her, the second wearing a red beret and dressed in a long-sleeved yellow shirt with green pants and brown boots plus a backpack strapped to his back and half-moon glasses, and the last certainly not like the others. The young man had white hair, glowing ecto green eyes, a black and white suit that looked like it belonged in some sort of lab, a strange white symbol on his chest, and a white glow that illuminated the outline of his body. And the fact that all three of them could see them puzzled them quite a bit.   
The two groups continuing to stare at each other Clockwork floated up to them and introduced, “Danny, friends, these are the Guardians from a parallel Earth. They were chosen to protect the children of their world from the forces of darkness, especially from one person you three simply know as the Bogeyman but to them he is known as Pitch Black.”

“Wait, hold on,” Tucker interrupted, not believing this for a second.”The Bogeyman as in the imaginary monster that lives under your bed as a kid and gave you nightmares while you were asleep? Hah, now I know this is a joke.”

Giving Tucker an icy glare Jack pointed out in a low voice, “Would you think it's a joke if he can turn your nightmare into a monster and use it against you with your fear to make it stronger and cause you nothing but misery and pain probably for the rest of your life?”

“Uhh, no. Not at all,” Tucker replied, knowing the look the winter spirit was giving him as the same one his friends gave him all the time. 

Telling Jack to cool it with his gaze Clockwork finished the introductions, “And this is Danny Phantom with his friends Tucker Foley and Sam Manson who protect their town from the ghosts of this dimension that find their way out of either a manmade portal or a natural one and terrorize the citizens with their destructive force. And the reason why they can see you is that as long as you are traversing this plane of existance the veil of belief is disabled allowing anybody to see you as clear as day. The reason that I have brought you both together is because of what has transpired in just a few short hours that could lead to ultimate disaster to both of your Earths. Just a short time ago Pitch forced Nyreena Dark, a young ghost who is the heir to the Zone's throne, to do his bidding or else he will unleash her fears and nightmares onto her and make her suffter.”

Directing everyone's attention to the biggest screen on the wall he pulled up the timeline in question and informed, “As you will see if there is no action taken to resolve this imbalance Pitch will conquer all three worlds and rule them with an unbridled fear and darkness that will make Lord Pariah Dark's reign seem like fairy tale compared to it.”

As they listened the eight heroes watched the scenes flash by, showing them Pitch’s rise to power from conquering kids’ dreams and obliterating the belief in the Guardians altogether to ravaging the teens' Earth and unleashing the worst the Ghost Zone had to offer causing so much chaos and destruction nothing could stand in the way of the Bogeyman’s power. Seeing that they understood what they had to do to stop this time line from proceeding Clockwork told them, “All of you have great powers and strength that, combining all of them together, will be able to stop our enemy in his tracks and save the princess from possibly the one thing that she fears the most. So do you accept this task and bring the balance back into order?”

“If it means taking that bloke down, then I’m in all the way,” Bunny agreed with a smirk on his face.

“For once I agree with the Kangaroo on this," Frost added, giving his own smirk to the Pooka's glare.

“I agree as vell,” North complied, his thick Russian accent giving the room some warmth.

Sandy, alway being the quiet one, nodded in reply while giving two thumbs up with a smile on his face.

“Well, so as long as it keeps my faries safe from harm unlike the last time Pitch attacked I’m for it,” Tooth acknowledged, one of her first priorities making sure her retrievers were always going to be okay, even more so from the previous encounter when they were captured and taken prisoner.

The three friends taking a bit longer to decide they figured that they were going to need all the help they can take to save their friend from her captor and have the advantage of the other team who have gone up against their enemy several times and know what his weaknesses are. Making their decision they said in unison, “We’re in as well.”

Nodding their acceptance Clockwork summoned a portal that led back to the workshop and said, “Here is where you will take off to begin your mission starting in North's secret palace in the North Pole. From there you must follow the course of events the way you come across them. Good luck.”

Taking the last part as a sign of farewell the newly formed group of eight walked in leaving the master of time in peace. Once they were gone he shut the gateway and muttered, “Please try not to destroy the future in the process.”

*****

Arriving in the toy factory the three friends were astounded by the scene before them: the architecture, the space, and the yetis and elves that were ambling about the place working along as usual. Seeing that the furred creatures were the ones making the toys the trio was quite perplexed by what they knew about the famed toymaker. Pointing at one that was rocking out to a toy guitar Danny asked, “Uh, isn't it the elves that are supposed to be making the toys? What’s with the yetis?”

“We just let the kids believe that story,” the Guardian of Wonder replied with a big smile then quickly walked off to talk with one of his taller associates. 

Still confused by it Jack came up next to him and explained, “Don't worry I asked the same question and found out why not a minute later.”

Pointing his staff towards a small group of creatures in question they saw that they were hooking each other up to a string of Christmas lights and illuminating themselves with the rainbow of colors pertained to the holiday. Now understanding what he meant Danny agreed, “I totally see what you mean.”

Figuring that the awkward tension was over with North grabbed his new guests’ attention and said, “Come, there is plenty to see! Keep up now, not much time to waste!”

Taking up the lead North gave a tour of his facility showing the newcomers around the place and ending in the Globe Room where Bunny asked, “Alright, so what we know what we're going up against what kind of powers does your friend have? May as well be prepared just in case we have to fight her in the future.”

Seeing that Bunny was right Danny sighed a bit and said, “Well, since she is the daughter of Pariah Dark she is going to be a formidable force to be reckoned with. She has the same abilities as any other ghost has: invisibility, intangibility, ghost sense, powers like that. But it's her more powerful abilities that you have to watch out for. She has the ability to see things a few minutes into the future, hear your thoughts and speak to you through them. Plus the fact that she’s a precisioned flamethrower you’re really going to have to watch out for that. Oh, and if you start to feel the air around you crackle bolt and bolt fast before it's too late. Other than that the only things that I need to tell you to avoid is her temper. That has a shorter fuse than anything in the world that is designed to blow up.”

“Now how about telling us what you know about this Pitch character,” Sam requested. “We know that he's the one that gave us nightmares when we were kids but how does he do it? What kind other powers does he possess so we can be ready for him?”

“For one thing he knows what you fear the most,” Jack answered, crossing his arms in the process and scowling his face. “And he will use it against you the first chance he gets.”

“He can also use your nightmares and transform them into his own personal army,” Tooth added, her thoughts of what had captured her fairies making her shiver in discomfort. 

“He gets his power from fear he creates in young children and more there is stronger he becomes,” North continued. “He can also become shadow itself, travel through it, and affect the physical world around it.”

Hearing everything the Bogeyman could really do made all three teens change their perspective of the enemy entirely, in turn making them rethink the seriousness of the situation. Thinking that if they went and searched for the Nightmare King in areas that raised the most suspicion Danny suggested, “I have an idea of how to possibly find Nyreena. How about we look for areas that have the highest degree of suspicion and go through each one. He’s bound to be in one of them and if he’s there he’s sure to have her by his side.”

Seeing reason in the theory North turned to the spinning globe and carefully studied it from top to bottom, watching for any sort of anomoly with the lights that would give them their destination. Then, out of the corner of his eye he saw what he was looking for. Pointing it out to his comrades he said, “Look, there is best place to begin. Everyone, to the sleigh!”

Seeing him move quickly the others followed behind as they made their way down to to the launch bay. Walking in the trio, well mostly Danny and Sam, wondered what the sleigh looked like while Tucker complained, “Look, it is scientifically impossible for all of us to ride one rickety old-”

“You may want to rephrase that," Jack interrupted, pointing to the double doors that opened up next to them.

Once they were open all the way the click of eight sets of hooves were heard as the reindeer came out pulling said vehicle which was nothing to the teens’ expectations. Seeing their expressions, especially Tucker’s, North chuckled and said one of his most popular mantras, “Everyone loves the sleigh.” 

Everyone loading up, including Bunny with some reluctance but understanding the importance of keeping the group together, they took off through the twist and turning tunnels that eventually lead outside, launching high into the air off the ramp and soaring through the sky. After they were on their way North pulled out a snowglobe from his coat and whispered the destination to it then threw it forward the glass ball expanding into a large portal. Snapping the reigns the reindeer shot straight ahead passing through and arriving above a large forest. However it was only a short while later when to no one’s expectation several skeletal Nightmares came out of nowhere and attacked the sleigh. Unaware of the surprise attack everyone quickly got their game faces on and fought their attackers with everything they got. As the possessed soldiers kept piling on it was without warning that a sudden lurch caused the teens to suddenly be ejected from the sleigh and hurtle down to the ground below. Noticing this a few of the Nightmares broke away and took off after them. Seeing his new friends get thrown out Jack called out to North, “Danny, Sam, and Tucker were thrown out, North! We got to back for them!”

“Not much I can do, Jack,” the Russian cried while trying to fight and keep control of the reindeer at the same time. “We have to come back for them.”

Seeing the logic in the new plan Frost silently agreed and continued to battle and hoped that they were going to be okay. As they were falling Danny was trying to figure out a way to slow his and his friends’ descent. Suddenly getting an idea the ghost boy flew closer and created a ghost shield that surrounded the trio and stopped them from falling any farther. Glad that his plan had worked Danny continued to descend until they were almost to the ground then dispersed the shield letting his friends to drop to the ground without being hurt. Landing himself he took a few breaths before his ghost sense went off and he was face to face with the Nightmares that had followed. Groaning in frustration Danny took closer look and recognized the creatures as Nyreena’s skeleton soldiers just wrapped up in black sand. Wanting this over quickly he charged up his powers and blasted them each with a single ghost ray that blew them apart without much effort. Once they were destroyed the trio regrouped together to which Sam asked, “Okay, that was just weird. How were they able to find us that quick?”

“I’ve got a feeling that it was Nyreena who knew,” Danny answered with look of thought on his face. “I bet you Pitch made her look into the future and predict when to attack us. In my opinion we need to work and work fast before he forces her to do something even worse.”

Nodding in agreement Tucker added, “Well, I hope that the others will be back for us. Who knows how long it will take for them to dispatch those other Nightmares? We better find a place where we can wait for them.”

“Good idea, Tuck,” Danny agreed, transforming back to his normal self. “Let’s go see if there’s a town nearby that we can go and walk around for a bit to make the time pass.”

Getting a nod from Sam the team began trekking through the woods a bit, passing by a big lake, and entering the quaint town of Burgess, Pennsylvania the home of Jamie Bennett, his little sister Sophie, and his friends. As the three were walking down the street the same group of kids were hanging out with each other, playing all kinds of games and having a lot of fun. At one point they were so distracted by their game the first kid to believe in Jack Frost almost ran into Danny at one point. Stopping himself before could Jaime apologized for the almost accident then joined up with the rest of his friends. Laughing a bit at what happened the three teens continued in the opposite direction while Bennett stopped and looked back getting the notion that there was something up about those three especially since he never recognized them before. But he could tell that there was a reason behind them being here and he was going to find out.


	5. Fire and Ice Meet Face to Face

After having to fly off and leave Team Phantom when they were suddenly ejected from the sleigh the Guardians continued to fight off the skeletal Nightmares that were attacking them. Having no idea where they came from or how they knew they were in the area the protectors of the children of the world only knew that they had to fend them off then turn around and pick up their fallen comrades. Slowly, one by one the black creatures were destroyed either by an icy blast, a boomerang, a sword, a wing, or golden sand. Finally the last of them were defeated which let the five beings breath a relieving sigh of relief thankful that it was over. Seeing that everything was fine North was about to snap the reigns to make the reindeer turn around and head back in the opposite direction when Tooth had noticed a figure up ahead and alerted, “Um, you might want to wait, North. I think there's somebody else waiting for us up ahead.”

During the entire battle Nyreena was floating off in the distance watching the whole scene play out. At the same time she had to do all that she could to keep the guilt that was making her stomach grow sicker by the minute get worse and worse. She still couldn’t imagine what was happening to her and still couldn't believe that she was doing this just to keep her worst nightmare from coming true. But she was also defending her home and protecting it from being ruled in darkness once again and she knew in her heart that this was the only way to keep her hopes and dreams safe. Watching the last of her force be destroyed she huffed a deep sigh of remorse then flew off towards them to begin her assault.

As the two sides were coming closer to each other the princess formed a fireball in her hands and fired it at the sleigh to which Jack saw as his need to fight her one on one. Quickly jumping into the air and flying out he swung his staff in an arc firing a blast of ice that obliterated the oncoming attack. The two finally coming face to face Nyreena threw the first punch, lit up with fire of course, that Frost quickly ducked away from it and returned it with another icy blast that she quickly destroyed before it even got to touch her. No matter how much they tried each attack canceled each other out for as long as they fought which was a good several minutes. But Nyreena knew that she had to win, and not because she was ordered to, and figured that the only way to end this was to use her second form of firepower one that ice couldn’t deflect. Seeing an opening she zoomed forward pulling up to be only a foot away and charged up a big ball of lightning pushing it forward and touching it to Jack's stomach. Screaming in utter pain from the shock he managed to get a look at his opponent's face and saw the look of guilt and pain on it and and understood that she was being forced to do this and had no choice. Seeing that there was no further need to attack Nyreena silenced her power and let Jack out of the sky she focused her attention back on the sleigh and started shooting a multitude of fire and lightning blasts in order to distract them then disappeared in a cloud of black sand summoned by the gauntlet.

Dodging the barrage of fire and lightning the Guardians finally made it through and zoomed forward to try and catch Jack before he had a chance to hit the ground. They were so focused on saving their fellow Guardian they didn't see Nyreena escape. Snapping the reigns harder North pushed the reindeer to fly faster to beat Jack as he continued to skyrocket to the ground below. Just as the former rebel was about to hit the trees the sleigh flew right under him and caught in just the nick of time. Getting him comfortable a very concerned Tooth asked him, "Jack, are you alright? Are you badly hurt?"

"Well, if getting electrocuted for the first time didn't do the trick of killing me, then I guess I'll be alright," Jack managed to say through the pain. 

"Jack, what happened up there?," North asked, wondering what had transpired.

Leaning himself up a bit Jack responded, "Well, nothing much at first. Our fire and ice attacks kept cancelling each other out for a while then all of a sudden she flew right up to me and shocked the living daylights out of me. But that's not what's really bothering me right now, besides the pain. It was the look on her face when she was shocking me."

"What kind of look was it?," Bunny inquired, starting to get curious about the situation himself.

Readjusting his position and coughing a bit Jack answered, "It was one of regret, guilt, and sorrow. The moment I saw it I realized that she was being forced to do this against her will and had no choice in the matter. Guys, I think we need to work faster to save her or else her guilt is going to swallow her up and take her down forever."

Everyone nodding in agreement North snapped the reigns again and directed the reindeer back towards the area Team Phantom fell to when they were thrown out of the sleigh.

Back in Burgess Jaime was following the trio his curiosity growing bigger and bigger as he wondered what they were doing in town. His friend, who were following behind, were curious themselves at what Jaime was up to and decided to help him out. But what they didn't know what the three older friends were slowly catching on that they were being tailed by the kids. Making it look like he didn't know what was going on Danny whispered, "We need to shake them off of our trail. Anybody got a plan on how to do it?"

"Well, I certainly don't have one," Tucker whispered back. "I thought maybe they would have taken off by now."

"How about we duck into an alleyway and wait for them to leave?," Sam suggested as she pointed to one they were passing by.

"Wait, I've got it!," Danny said as a sudden idea popped into his head. "Quick, into the next alley. I think I've got just the thing to throw them off our trail."

Suddenly walking off into an alleyway the kids sped up and entered as well only to stunned to find that the trio was nowhere to be found. Walking down the side street they tried to find the threesome who had in fact turned invisible thanks to Danny and his quick planning. As the kids were searching the teens managed to sneak by and get behind them. Wanting to know why they were being followed Danny made them reappear scaring the children and stopping their search. Once the kids were calmed down Danny asked them, "So, uh, what's got you so curious about us three that made you follow us?"

"Uh, it's just that I never seen you three around here before and I guess my curiosity got the better of me," Jaime replied a bit sheepishly.

"Ah, that's okay kid," the ghost boy said, not worried about it. "We all get curious about things we don't know about."

"Thanks," Jaime returned. "So, what are you guys doing in Burgess anyways?"

Getting a nervous feeling about all of this Sam quickly interjected, "Oh, we're just waiting for some friends of our to pick us up. They dropped us off so they could go run an errand."

"Yeah," Tucker agreed, quickly catching on to what Sam was going at. "They thought that maybe we could entertain ourselves here while they took their trip."

"Oh, okay," the kid agreed, believing the quickly concocted lie. "Well, I hope you guys enjoy your stay and hope your friends will come for you soon."

Nodding in agreement Danny said, "Thanks, kid. Come on guys, let's go see if we can find our ride."

As the three were turning to leave Jaime quickly got a thought in his head and called out, "Hey, just be careful if some winter winds decide to blow up. It could be Jack Frost having some fun!"

The three looking at each other with a knowing glint in their eye Danny returned, "Don't worry, we will!"

As the team took off around the corner all three of them started to wonder if the kid, or the whole group of kids for that matter, knew Jack in person which raised a whole new round of questions that they were going to have to ask once they grouped back together with the Guardians. That is, if the Guardians managed get out of the situation they were in with the Nightmares and were on their way back to find them.


	6. A Dark Revelation and A Chance for Help

After departing from the fight between her and the Guardians Nyreena appeared in another cloud of black sand, arriving in a tunnel that was discovered as a passage to the world above. Taking a deep breath and exhaling it she made her way into the main chamber where a couple of Nightmares were standing around. Seeing her approach they took their leave, giving Nyreena a cold look as they passed by. Giving them their own heated glare she watched them disappear into a different tunnel, never sensing Pitch approach her from behind. Turning around to continue on her way she suddenly stopped and jumped back a bit seeing Pitch standing right there. Her temper quickly shooting back up she held her tongue the best she could as the Nightmare King asked, "Did you do as I asked you to?"

"Yes, I did," Nyreena answered while trying very hard not to lose her quickly rising temper and darting her gaze away. "I used my fire and Frost attacked me causing the one on one then attacked him with the most powerful lightning attack that I could muster and let him fall to the ground below."

Grinning cruelly Pitch praised, "Excellent. You've done a marvelous job. Even with me constantly warning you that if you didn't I would unleash your darkest fears and nightmares on you, you've done everything that I've planned so far to perfection."

Seeing her gaze turn away then looking her over he added, "It is strange that you're starting to look like one of my Nightmares, though."

Snapping her vision back Nyreena's eyes started to fill with fear at what he had just said. She didn't dare believe what she just heard, knowing that he was probably just saying things to make her fear rise and give him more power. Figuring that she was disbelieving him Pitch summoned a large cloud of sand and transformed it into an ornate mirror to show his servant that he was speaking the truth. As Nyreena stared at her reflection it showed that her right arm was covered entirely with black sand, her fingers slowly starting to form into claws, and began to travel up the right side of her neck and face. Even her right eye had shifted from its glowing icy blue to a menacing glowing yellow color. Shocked by her appearance the princess took a few steps back and fell to her knees while shaking in absolute fear, scared at how this was happening to her with absolutely no clue as to how it was transforming her. Smirking Pitch slowly approached her and walked around behind her while explaining, "Oh, it's not that bad. Remember, all you have to do to prevent this is just do what I say until my revenge is taken care of and my plans are completed in a quick and timely manner. Besides, it's really doesn't look that bad."

However, what the truth really was that Pitch had cursed the gauntlet to encase his prisoner in sand every time she used her ghostly powers, each time doubling the imprisonment so that before she even had the chance to realize what was happening it would be too late and Nyreena would be his servant permanently for all of time.

*****

Returning to the spot where the teens were ejected the sleigh flew through the trees and landed next to the lake where Pitch's last defeat took place. As everyone climbed out except for Jack who remained sitting on the back edge, North quickly checking the damage and seeing what could be quickly fixed. Getting himself stretched out Bunny suggested, "How about if I head towards town and see if I can find them?"

"Good idea," Tooth agreed, flying around a bit. "You're the stealthiest one out of all of us and you can cover a lot more ground in a short amount of time."

"Go ahead, old friend," North complied finishing the last tweak. "We'll be here waiting for you when you return with the trio."

Nodding his head Bunny tapped the ground twice, quickly summoning a rabbit hole and jumped in, the opening disappearing just as quickly as it appeared. Watching his friend take off Jack stood up, pulled his hood onto his head, and said, "Look, I need some time for myself. I'll be back in a bit."

Quickly taking off into the skies in the opposite direction North knew that the young Guardian had some troubling things on his mind and needed the time alone to straighten them out. A while later, as the sun was setting, Bunny hopped out of another rabbit hole that opened up in an alleyway and looked around using his enhanced hearing to scope out the area. Once he felt safe enough he took off bounding through the streets stopping every few minutes to listen for their voices. At least fifteen minutes went by without so much as a whisper. Moving towards the edge of town where it met the forest the sound of three voices caught his ear making the Pooka stop and listen very hard. Unable to make them out he moved a few yards closer and caught a glimpse of Tucker's red beret and figured it had to be them. Taking off again he silently closed in on them and took a flying leap, landing right in front of them causing the teens to reel back in surprise. Standing up and looking at them Bunny asked with a calm expression, "Everything alright?"

"Uh, yeah, everything's okay," Danny replied while taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down. "We just weren't expecting you to show up the way you did."

Giving them a knowing smirk Bunny commented, "Yeah, yeah, whatever mate. Come on, the sleigh is parked not far from here."

Leading the way Bunny informed them of what happened when they were sent flying from the sleigh from destroying the strange looking Nightmares to Nyreena beginning her attack to her and Jack fighting one on one up to the point of her severely electrocuting the former rebel then disappearing out of sight. Mortified at what they just heard the trio couldn't believe that this had happened but had to for the sake of the mission. Seeing that the time was of the essence they grew very worried for their friend and knew that this had to be solved quick before something really bad could happen. Seeing the sleigh in sight it was only a few minutes later until they reached the others night having fallen at last. Waiting for them to arrive, and making sure that they were alright, Tooth said to the teen heroes, "Oh, thank goodness we found you. We got worried when you were thrown out of the sleigh."

"Oh, no worries," Danny replied, acting like it wasn't a big deal. "I got things under control and we managed not to get a scratch."

"Wonderful!," Tooth congratulated, happy that things were at least getting back on track. "Unfortunately, for me and Sandy, it's time for us to get to work. As always we don't get to work only one night a year so we'll be back first thing in the morning at the Pole."

The both of them waving goodbye they took to the skies to begin their nightly routines of either spreading dreams or collecting teeth. Watching them leave Sam was the first to notice that someone was missing from their now smaller group. Looking around she asked, "Hey, where's Jack? Did something happen to him?"

"No, no," North answered, knowing exactly what to say. "Jack sometimes needs to be by himself to think to himself. Sometimes things trouble Jack to which he wants to work out on his own."

All three nodding in agreement they look to the skies again and hope that their winter friend was going to be okay. Speaking of the troubled being he was pacing on a mountaintop, his mind rattled with his thoughts and memories of what happened. Every few minutes he had to wince a bit from the soreness that he got from the lightning attack. Which he still couldn't believe that the ghost they were assigned to save was capable of doing something like this. It was then that the memory of the look she had when she was electrocuting him flashed by his eyes twisted him up on the inside even more than it did before. That utter look of humiliation and despair was all that it was taking for him to be absolutely sick to his stomach. And to mention that he could see the fear and pain that she was holding in with all of her might literally made him feel like his heart was broken into dozens of little pieces. Plus his temper was spiking at exponential levels at the fact that his archenemy would stoop so low as use an innocent being against their will for his schemes. Finally unable to hold in his anger any longer Jack swung his staff high into the air and shot out a massive ice bolt that crackled throughout the silent space, screaming in frustration as well. However, what he didn't know was that someone was watching him from a good distance hoping that things could be settled between them. Flinching back at the sight of the blast the being recognized the raw strength and power and wondered if it could help destroy the shackle that was turning this imprisoned soul into a terrifying monster.


	7. An Unexpected Kindling

A short while later Pitch had decided to step out but before he left he had ordered Nyreena to stay put and not leave the cavern until he had returned. Watching him leave she was glad that she was going to get some time to herself. At least now she had a chance to think and figure out a way to escape this awful mess. But before she started coming up with ideas there was one major obstacle that she had to take down. Making a very, very thorough check just make sure that her "master" wasn't around watching to see what she was up to Nyreena smirked in satisfaction then made her way to the surface the good old fashioned way and flew her way towards a giant mountain that she knew she could find some peace to think and figure things out. Landing on the snowy surface she stared out at the beautiful landscape thinking of all the possiblities that would provide a successful outcome but all she got was nothing but dead ends and a throbbing headache. She was just about to groan in frustration when suddenly the sound of softly crunching footsteps were coming her way. Freaking out she leapt a considerable distance and ducked behind a large jutting rock, turning invisible just in case the person walking up had noticed her run for cover, and slowly peeked out from behind to see who it was. Her eyes growing wide she was surprised to see that it was Jack Frost who was pacing around in a tempered state. Watching him walk back and forth for a few minutes she wondered what he was doing here when all of a sudden he swung his staff into the air and fired a powerful blast of ice while screaming in frustration. Flinching away from the rock Nyreena recognized the level of raw power that he exuded and at last saw a glimmer of hope. Maybe if she could convince him that he could set her free with another blast of that magnitude that would be able to break the gauntlet and break the curse.  
Taking a few deep breaths, and gulping down the case of nerves that were quickly beginning to rise, Nyreena snapped herself out from trying to psych herself into backing out, returned visible, and slowly stepped out her slightly heavier footsteps catching his attention. Quickly spinning around to see who was approaching him from behind Jack dropped into a defensive position as soon as he recognized who she was. Raising her hands to show that she wasn't here to fight she said to him, "Please, I'm not here because he sent me after you again. All I want to do is to figure out how to break the hold he has on me and find a way go home where I belong. I know that asking you to believe me is basically pointless but I am asking you to at least consider a truce between us for at least a little while."

Continuing to stare at her with a cold glare Jack thought about her offer while watching for any signs of deception but slowly began to realize that she was telling the truth. Relaxing his body posture he pulled his hood down and replied, "Alright, I'll agree to the truce."

Now that things were starting to calm down a bit the winter being got a really good look at her, seeing that her appearance had really changed from the last time he saw her. Confused by this he asked, "So, uh, what exactly happened to you? How are you looking like...this?"

"Well, that's the thing. I have absolutely no idea how," Nyreena replied just as confused as he was. "It first appeared after I got back to the cavern when Pitch pointed it out to me. It's covering my entire arm, as you can see, and it was starting to crawl up my neck and onto my face. My right eye's not even its beautiful blue anymore."

"Are you sure? Jack asked, not sure that she knew what she looked like now. "Because it looks like it's grown more since the last time you saw it."

To her horror what he said was devastatingly true. The sand was now diagonally covering half of her face as well as her upper torso and traveling down to the lower half of her body. Realizing what he had meant Nyreena quickly looked herself over and had to keep herself from freaking out at this new development. Taking several deep breaths to calm herself down a bit of silence took over the area that seemed to make them both watch the scenery change little by little. Deciding to break it Nyreena commented, "You know, ever since finding out that I was the daughter of an evil king that used to rule with cruelty, fear, and darkness, I've been trying to fight to prove that I'm not going to turn out to be like him. Now that this has happened I'm not sure that I'll be able to control the growing darkness that I know I have deep down for a long while now from unleashing itself and controlling me for good. That's what Pitch keeps threatening me with if I don't comply with his commands. If I don't do what he says he'll...."

Unable to finish her sentence from the fear of what could happen she stopped talking and returned staring at the foliage slightly trembling from the mere thought of it. Watching her explain her inner struggle and what Pitch was using against her it reminded Jack of his own struggles before becoming a Guardian, trying everything he could to get somebody to see him and do all that he could to remember who he was before he became Jack Frost. Feeling a wave of comforting emotion wash over him the winter being walked up to her and said, "You'd be surprised to know that I didn't want to become a Guardian. Being tied down, having hide myself away from everything, it just wasn't for me. But seeing what had happened when Pitch attacked Tooth's palace and learning that she had the key to solving my problems it started a chain reaction that led to almost all of us losing our powers and ourselves if it wasn't for one little boy that was able to believe in me and in turn save us all. But of course the person who helped me realize that I was meant to be a Guardian was my sister once I got a hold of my memories. Remembering that I took her place on top of the cracking ice while at the same time having some fun with her to help calm her helped me to see that the Man in the Moon had chosen me for what I did to protect the children of the world with my powers and my fun. It was a big hurdle for me to overcome but once I did I found that I couldn't be more happier. What you're going through may seem like a hurdle to you but once you face it you'll have the strength to overcome it and find out who you were meant to be."

Listening to Jack talk about his past made Nyreena realize how similar their plights were and wondered how much more they had in common. Smiling in gratitude she replied, "Thank you for telling me that. It was definitely something that I needed to hear."

Fighting another bout of nerves that decided to pop up as she was about to push on with the conversation she took another deep breath, exhaled it, and asked, "Um, Jack, if you would be willing to can you do me a very important favor?"

"Sure, what is it?," Jack asked, smiling at bit at the prospect of what it was going to be. 

"Would you be able to summon another powerful ice blast like the one you fired a little while ago and shoot it at the gauntlet?," Nyreena replied, with a tiny bit of uncertainty in her voice.

Giving her an are-you-kidding look Jack confronted, "Has the sand gotten to your mind or something? If I shoot it right at your arm it could severely injure you or probably worse obliterate you out of this world."

"Jack the first thing you've got to know about ghosts is that it takes a lot to really injure us," Nyreena informed him. "Besides, I've taken worse and healed from it at the most a couple of days. I can assure you that everything is going to be alright. Plus the fact that I'll be putting up a ghost shield to block the blast should be able to put you at ease."

Still unsure about the request Jack asked her, "Are you sure that you want to do this? There has to be another way of going about this."

"To be honest, I don't know of another way," Nyreena answered. "But at least we can try this option and see if will work or not."

Huffing a sigh Jack shook his head, looked at her and admitted, "Alright, if you're that sure about this then I guess that I'm on board as well. So if this is going to work you might want to step back a bit so I can get a good aim at that shackle on your arm."

Nodding in agreement Nyreena took a few steps back and held up her arm, creating a shield from the middle of her forearm up, expanding it to shield her entire body, and braced herself for the oncoming attack. Lifting his staff up and taking aim Jack steadied himself and took a deep breath, waiting for the time to be right. Ready to fire he exhaled and made the shot, the ice hitting the gauntlet head on and instead of destroying it ricocheted off the force sending Nyreena straight into the mountainside completely knocking her out cold. Crumpling to the ground into a heap Jack suddenly felt his stomach drop and rushed over to see if she was okay. Unsure of what to do he figured that at least North had something in his vast wisdom and knowledge to know what do. Picking her up and cradling her in his arms Jack took off for the Pole hoping that his friends had returned to the hidden Russian palace so that they all could work together to solve this major problem. However, what he didn't know was that as soon as he left Pitch had appeared from a dark ledge higher up on the mountain and smirk evilly in satisfaction seeing that his plan was proceeding ahead as scheduled.


	8. The Choice That Could Spell Untold Disaster

Somehow knowing that Jack would return to the Pole once he had the chance to figure things out North, Bunny, and Team Phantom loaded into the sleigh and flew due north for the workshop. As they landed into the icy bay and slowing to a stop they were surprised to see Jack landing right next to them with an unconscious Nyreena, or what looked like Nyreena, in his arms. Completely baffled by the sight North only had to looked in the former rebel's eyes to know that this was a serious situation. Quickly leading them to an empty guestroom Jack laid Nyreena on the bed and saw the first time that her appearance had changed again. The sand had grown to encompass every inch except her left eye and her left arm. Everything else had transformed into a Nightmare version of herself. Everyone was completely baffled as to how this happened Jack looked at them and explained, "Even she and I don't know how this is turning her into one of them. All that I know is that she asked me to fire an ice blast at the gauntlet, she made a shield to protect herself, I fired, but the blast somehow ricocheted off and sent her into the side of the mountain we were on, knocking her out cold. I didn't know what to do so I brought her here for North to help out on."

"Did she happen to say how this started by any chance?," Tucker asked, getting rather curious about this himself.

Searching his memories Jack distantly heard the princess's voice in his head saying something about when it first appeared to which he repeated in his reply, "She did say that it first appeared covering her entire right arm and had started traveling up her neck and head and turned her right eye from blue to yellow. But when I saw her it was covering the top diagonal half of her face as well as her upper body and starting to go down her legs. And now that it's come to this who knows how long she has until she's consumed completely."

Plugging what Jack said into his calculations Tucker continued to think for a few more minutes when it quickly clicked into place and exclaimed, "I got it! It's coming from the gauntlet!

"Huh? What are you getting at, Tuck?," Danny asked, surprised by the outburst and confused by his friend's reasoning.

"It's the reason why she's getting encased," Tucker explained. "When Pitch gave her the gauntlet, he must have designed it to be in sync with her powers so that every time she used them it would activate its secret power and transform her. And if my guess is correct the more she used her powers in a single fight the faster the transformation would progress."

"While at the same time keep it a secret from Nyreena so that she would be duped into using her powers as much as possible and only realize it when it was too late," Sam added, slowly getting the sneaky suspicion that this was part of Pitch's schemes. "Somehow it was a miracle that she and Jack would end up on the same mountain so that he could bring her here before it was too late."

It was that moment that Nyreena finally began to stir, slowly coming around and getting reacquainted with what was going on. Her left eye blinking a couple of times it showed her expression that something was wrong, her eye looking all around like she was trying to correct her vision but she wasn't able to. Taking her time to lean up she tried to say something and her glowing gaze reflected that she was starting to freak out at the fact that something was really wrong. Her fear quickly starting to escalate it began the power up the black sand causing it to make her act almost erratic. Getting very concerned Jack quickly went over to her, grabbed her shoulders, and told her, "Nyreena, take it easy. The sand is almost encasing you completely but not just yet. You need to calm down and take it easy before the sand makes you do something drastic. You're safe now. You don't need to be afraid anymore. Just don't use your ghost powers for a while. It's the reason why your turning into a Nightmare."

Looking right into Jack's eyes Nyreena instantly took his advice and calmed down right away, the sand losing its power and returning back to its dormant state. Sighing in relief Jack let go of her shoulders and gave her a smile that said everything was going to be alright. Seeing that she needed a way to talk to everyone Tucker handed over his PDA and said, "Here, you can use this to communicate with until we can figure out a way to free you."

The glint in her eye saying thank you and that she would take really good care of it she quickly typed out, "You have to know that Pitch doesn't know that I escaped. He could've returned by now, saw that I disobeyed his order and went back out to look for me."

Showing them what she typed North replied with comforting smile, "Don't worry, printsessa. We have every means necessary to make sure that you will be safe."

Unsure that they would be able to Nyreena deleted her previous message and typed, "Thank you. I'm grateful that you all are willing to do this but please I ask you all to be on your guard just in case Pitch is able to get in here."

Showing the new message all of them nodded in agreement to the request. Feeling the familiar role of being a host coming on North invited his new guest, "Come, it's time to show you around the place. And I have a feeling that it will be something you will never forget."

Jack helping her get to her feet North led the way out to the railing where the expansive sight completely amazed Nyreena. Never in her life would she be able to imagine such a place as this. Leading her around the expert swordsman showed her all the stations that were set up around the complex, and kept her away from the elves to avoid having to avoid answering the now age-old question of why they weren't making the toys. Only stopping for a few moments to show his private workroom they quickly pushed on visiting a few more places before arriving in the Globe Room where the sight of the full moon was seen through the giant skylight in the spacious roof. Actually seeing him this time around, thankfully not needing Sandy's help since the little golden man was off spreading happy dreams to children, North called, "Manny, just who I wanted to see! I would like to introduce to you the young woman we were charged by Clockwork to rescue from Pitch."

Placing an arm around Nyreena and bringing her forward she greeted the moon with a nod from her head. Not a moment later the glow suddenly became a lot brighter as it illuminated the giant circle on the floor and formed the shadowy picture of Pitch then shifting it to take the shape of all people Nyreena. The light dimming way down it was meant to reflect that trouble was brewing and was on its way straight toward them. Now taking the princess's warning that Pitch might be out looking for his escaped prisoner North ordered his workers, "Everyone, we are on high alert. You all know procedures on what to do. I want the entire place locked down tight. Go, now!

Looking to his friends he added, "Go and help with preparations. The yetis will show you what to do. Printsessa, for now stay here. Manny's glow will keep you safe."

Watching everyone run off and prepare for the oncoming attack Nyreena was at a loss for what to do herself. Then, hearing a distant voice in her head call her name and ask her what was troubling her she turned and looked back up at the moon and replied in thought, "Great Man in the Moon, back home on my earth I've heard so many stories that you were just a shape in the moon by the many craters that it holds. I never thought in my entire lifetime that you were actually a great person until I stumbled upon a new story. It was in my family's library and it was just sticking out there like it wanted me to find it. Pulling it down and flipping it open it told the story of this great Golden Age with these majestic Constellations and amazing airships all living together in this great peace. Until these Fearlings came and tried to destroy everything with their evil. Then this great warrior, Kozmotis Pitchiner I think his name was, lead the Golden Armies against them, capturing all of the Fearlings and imprisoning them even volunteering to guard the prison himself. Then something happened that made him open the cage doors, setting them free and at the same time get possessed by them that turned him into.....Pitch Black. Oh, Pariah's beard, I cannot believe that I didn't think of that story until now. It all makes perfect sense. Now I remember the rest. Your family had to flee because he was coming after you and after attacking your ship you were the only one who crashed onto this Earth's moon and decided to carry on your family's task by protecting the children of this world from Pitch. I know by now you must have a great mass of wisdom and knowledge to help me out of this awful mess that I've gotten myself into. Please, I ask you. What must I do to break free so my friends and I can stop Pitch then return home?"

Hearing the being's voice in her head again with his answer Nyreena was, at first, very hesitant about whether or not she should go through with it. But taking a while to think about it it slowly started to make a lot of sense and it made her eye glow with hope. She knew that it was going to take a lot of courage to go through with this but if it worked out she would be free to go back to who she truly was. Silently thanking him for his help she looked back at the chaos behind her, at the same time hoping her telepathy wouldn't speed up the encasing process, and mentally called out, "Jack, I need you to do me another big favor."

"What is it?," the winter spirit called back, a bit thrown at hearing Nyreena's voice in his head.

Telling him her plan that the Man in the Moon gave to her he yelled in his head, "This is crazy! How do you know that this plan is going to work?"

"Because for one thing the Man in the Moon said that this was best possible way to fight this," Nyreena calmly returned. "Please, Jack, I need you to trust me completely on this and just know that everything will work out for the better. Okay?"

Sighing in defeat Jack knew that if this was something the inhabitant of the moon came up with then there was nothing he could really argue with. Smiling a small smile he agreed, "Okay, I trust you. Just..be safe and try to keep the real you alive in there somewhere, okay?"

"I will," Nyreena replied, glad that he was on board with this. 

Taking a deep breath Nyreena made a break for an entrance out to the frozen terrain, hoping that she would pass by at least one of the two other Guardians and get them to follow her outside. Luckily, the one she ran past was Bunny who was directing a group of yetis and had seen Nyreena rush past him out of the corner of his eye. Whipping around and watching her figure get farther and farther away he could tell that something was up and took off after her. Chasing after her they made it outside, the icy wind picking up as if it knew that things were turning for the worse. Hoping that it would get her to stop Bunny cried out, "Nyreena, stop! Whatever is that you might be trying to do is going to end badly! You need to come back and stay with us!"

As soon as she heard those words Nyreena stopped and turned to look back at him, telepathically saying, "I'm sorry, but I can't. In order for things to be right again, the answer to the problem will become clear at the moment when all hope seems lost. Also, I'm sorry for this."

Holding up her hand she blasted him with a powerful dark blue ghost beam, giving herself up to the gauntlet's power and letting the transformation complete itself, freezing her where she stood. Nyreena was now a statue encased completely in black sand and looking like a darker version of herself. The others quickly finding out what had happened they soon followed the two and made it out just as Nyreena shot the beam at Bunny who quickly ducked out of the way and watched as his comrades came up. Watching the scene from a distance Pitch was grinning in cruel satisfaction seeing that the first part of his master scheme was finally complete. Summoning a few Nightmares to his side he sent them out to confront the heroes, who weren't expecting a surprise attack to come. Everyone staring at the statue, unable to believe that Nyreena would do a thing such as this, suddenly out of nowhere several Nightmares came out of nowhere and started to attack, sending the three Guardians and Team Phantom into a scramble to try to fend them off. As they fought Pitch's voice rang out over the ruckus, "Oh, now this is a sight that I've been wanting to see for a long while now. All my enemies here fighting against my forces as I watch in amusement. But now is not the time for games. Now is the time for revenge and total domination."

Appearing beside the frozen Nyreena he continued, "And since it...almost worked the last time, I'm going to make sure that this time all the children of the world no longer believe in you then go after two new worlds that will soon know of my power and know not to defy me. Now thanks to my new acquirement you will never have another chance of stopping me ever again."

Fighting off the last of the Nightmares all six heroes quickly dashed towards Pitch hoping to get to him and get the statue from him but before they could even get within five feet Pitch summoned a massive cloud of black sand and blocked them off, disappearing with Nyreena in hand. Seconds later, the cloud dispersed revealing that the Nightmare King had taken his leave with the prize in hand making them all wonder what sort of plans he had for them and what plans he had for all three worlds. Seeing the need to regroup the team headed back to the workshop to wait for Tooth and Sandy to return from their nightly duties, inform them of what happened, and where to go from there.


	9. Just What Really Is Going On

After disappearing in his black sand cloud with his imprisoned servant in tow Pitch returned to his underground lair, having his minions place the statue next to his Globe while he slowly circled and admired his work. Stopping and facing it face to face he smirked in satisfaction then summoned a ball of black sand and struck the imprisonment, breaking it apart and freeing the mindwarped ghost inside. Falling to the ground Nyreena had transformed while being frozen inside completely changing the way she looked from before: her hair had darkened to a darker shade of blue, her porcelain white skin had turned into a gray that almost matched Pitch's tone, her eyes were glowing their own evil shade of silver-yellow, and her clothes consisted of a black laced and collared halter top that exposed her midriff, black skinny pants with black belt buckled with a chrome buckle, thigh-high black boots, black cuffed biker gloves, and the gauntlet remaining the same. Getting to her feet and looking herself over she acted as if she had just took a fall instead of being turned into a minion of darkness. Finally seeing Pitch standing in front of her Nyreena's eyes grew very big and quickly dropped to one knee and bowed her head asking, "Master Pitch, what is it that you wish for me to complete? No task is too menial for me, my master of darkness."

Smirking even more that his plan worked far better than he expected Pitch answered, "My loyal servant, I want you to take a group of Nightmares and attack an area that will draw the Guardians and their new companions to you, leaving me in peace to exact my revenge against a certain band of children that thought they could stand against me and not fear me like they should have when I had the power to turn their dreams into eternal nightmares."

Nodding in compliance Nyreena asked, "What area would suffice as being far away enough for you, my king?"

"Any one that you choose, my dear," Pitch replied with a evil grin, placing an arm around her and directing to the Globe. 

Returning his grin with her own Nyreena looked at the continents and studied each one with careful precision, letting her darkened instincts show the way. When her eyes fell on the southern area of Japan they quickly lit up as her choice was made. Pointing to it she said, "There. That will be the place for my battle with those incompreble do-gooders."

"Perfect," Pitch agreed, her choice pleasing him. "Now go, quickly. The sooner you pull the Guardians away from my location the longer I have to exact the first part of my plans for total domination."

Bowing in agreement Nyreena mentally summoned a troop of skeletal Nightmares then disappearing in a cloud of black sand they left Pitch all alone to observe a single glowing dot while his mind stewed with his future attack on the small town making him cruelly grin in glee.

*****

Back at the North Pole Tooth and Sandy, along with them was Baby Tooth who had wanted to know what was going on, had arrived just as the others were coming back in from witnessing probably the worst thing they ever could have seen. Seeing the looks on their faces Tooth grew very concerned and asked, "What happened? Did something bad happen while we were gone?"

"I'm afraid so, Tooth," North replied. "Come, there is much to explain."

Leading the group to the Globe Room everyone but Jack recanted the details of the recent events that occurred while the other two Guardians were gone. Once they learned of what was going on Sandy asked visually what made Nyreena do something like this. To that none of them could answer the reason why. For a good while now they pondered the possibilities of what made the princess give into Pitch's darkness. As they thought no one saw Jack slip away to the bay window he always sat in when he was feeling low and sat next to the window, his hood up once again as he stared out onto the snowy landscape. His thoughts were consumed with what Nyreena told him before she gave herself up, the plan that the Man in The Moon gave to her still swirling around and was still disbelieving that it was going to work. While he was lost in his thoughts he had no clue that the others were coming up to him once they found out that he wasn't with them anymore. Knowing that the winter spirit was seriously contemplating something North asked, "Jack, is everything alright?"

Snapping back to reality Jack looked at where North's voice came from and saw that everyone was standing around him with a bit of a worried look on all of their faces. Sighing a bit he pulled down his hood and answered, "Actually, it's not. There's something that you guys need to know. Just before Nyreena gave herself up she told me through our thoughts that she had a plan and that I needed to trust her that this was the best solution to solve all of our problems. Though I'm still not sure why this was what the Man in the Moon came up with."

"Wait, he came up with the plan?," Bunny asked, confused by what Jack said. "But how did he give that to Nyreena?"

"Perhaps he had noticed the distress in the printsessa and wanted to help," North surmised with small grin on her face. "Manny has strange ways of offering assistance when time is right."

"Well, what exactly was the plan she told you?," Danny asked, wondering what this "assistance" was really detailing.

Heaving another sigh Jack answered, "She told me that she was going to try to get one of us to follow her outside so that they could confront each other then use her powers one last time and get encased in the sand. She then told me that when she would give me the signal to blast the gauntlet again and she would be free again. That's all that she told me so no need to ask anymore clarifying questions."

Listening with a curious look on his face North then asked, "Tell me, why would she tell only you of this and not any of her friends?"

"I-I-I don't know," Jack answered, not sure where the toymaker was going with this. 

Expressing a smile that said that things would be alright North suggested, "Maybe the reason is she knows that you have the power to break the hold that is on her but just at the right time."

"Hey, hold on a second," Bunny interjected, remembering something that could be very important to solving this predicament. "Nyreena said just before she shot at me that the answer would be clear when all hope seems lost. Could it be that's when she's going to give the signal?"

"Could be, Bunny," North agreed. "But when that will be is still big mystery. I can only guess that it will come when least expected."

Just as he said that a yeti quickly approached them and said in his usual manner of speaking that there was something happening on the globe. Everyone quickly getting concerned they followed the yeti out to the Globe Room and fanned out to see what was going on. And it was very easily seen that the southern area of Japan was flickering uncontrollably, the sign that Pitch was making his first move. Everyone getting the cue that it was time to leave they rushed to the sleigh, the teens grabbing their gear along the way and Danny going ghost, quickly climbing in and taking off while using a snowglobe portal to get to their destination quicker. As soon as they appeared on the other side they stared at shock at all the Nightmares that were flying through skies, both the regular and the skeletal, causing chaos throughout kids' dreams as they slept below. As all of them were trying to see if there was any sighting of Pitch they had no clue that something was heading straight for them. A sudden thunk on the back of the sleigh grabbing their attention all of them turned to see what it was and to their absolute horror, especially Jack's for some strange reason, it was Nyreena in her new form, grinning at them with an almost terrifying evil grin. Chortling she asked, "Geez, what took you lame excuses for heroes so long to get here?"

Laughing even louder she snapped her fingers, summoning a small horde of Nightmares to her and silently ordering them to attack. Following their command they surged forward to start the fight, at the same time Nyreena pushing off and flying straight back from the group. However, Danny wasn't going to let her go away that easily. Seeing an opening during the battle he took off after his corrupted friend, quickly catching up to her thanks to his superb flying speed. Maintaining a steady pace he called out, "Nyreena, stop!"

Sensing Danny coming up right behind her and hearing his voice Nyreena twisted herself to face him and pulled up, choosing to face him one on one. Coldly glaring at her he asked, "Why did you do it? Why did you give yourself up like that so easily? This isn't something that you would normally do."

"You know, you're right. It isn't something I would normally do," she said, still laughing like it wasn't something to be worried about. "Oh, Danny, don't you see? I didn't give up. I just finally embraced the darkness that I had inside of me and set it free. And oh, it feels so wonderful not have the burden of trying to keep it hidden away, trying to fight it for all this time."

"Come on, Nyreena, you've got to realize that this is not you," Danny tried to convince, hoping that his words would cut through to her. "I know that you're a smart, creative, resourceful, and thoughtful person. You being this evil monster is just not you at all. Please, you've got to snap-"

"No, no, no!," Nyreena screamed, cutting the halfa off. "Sorry to spoil your efforts but there is no turning back for me. I've become who I am now and I've found where I belong. Now either deal with it or I will deal with you."

Sighing in remorse that he wasn't able to get through he knew that he had no choice but to fight her here and now. Holding up his fists and charging them up he said, "Then deal with me. I will get through to you even if I have to defeat you."

Giving him a scowl Nyreena seethed, "Very well, then. Your loss, anyhow," then charged up her powers and shot a blast of black flames at Danny. Flying back a bit he used his ice powers to block the flames then returned it with a couple of ghost rays of his own. Quickly creating a black sand shield she deflected them then used said shield as a disc and flung it at the halfa who used his spectral manipulation to separate his midsection in two and let the weapon fly right through. Continuing to duke it out with each other for a good several minutes Danny figured that he needed to know where Pitch was in all of this so that he could alert the others of his location. Getting a bit closer he demanded, "Look, I've had enough of this. Where is Pitch?"

"Hah, wouldn't you like to know?," Nyreena taunted while starting to deliver a few hand to hand blows. 

"Oh, I would," Danny replied, starting to block said blows. "Are you not saying it because he's just lying in wait for the right moment to strike or just waiting for you to screw up and have to come fix your mess like every villain has to do with their lackeys?"

Quickly blowing up she suddenly swept up high into the air and thundered, at the same time charging a huge ball of black lightning and shooting at him, "This is my mission that my master trusted me to deal with! And this is something that he won't have to clean up because I will win!"

The lightning massively crackling through the air making its way straight for its target Danny quickly summoned a repulsion field hoping that it would repulse the bolt and it did to an extent. It blocked it but the force ricocheted him straight back towards the sleigh where everyone else was fighting off the oncoming hordes of Nightmares. Seeing where he was going he quickly went intangible, flew straight through, then slowed himself to a stop then quickly made his way back to the sleigh, landing inside. As they were battling Jack was getting a really bad feeling that something wasn't right with the situation and before he had a chance to figure things out the sudden sound of Jaime's voice in his head crying for help made him look around the battlefield for a few moments come to the realization that all this was just a distraction so that Pitch could go to Burgess and get his revenge on the kid. Quickly returning his attention to the fight he blasted another creature then cried out, "Everyone, we've got to get to Burgess! This was just a distraction so that Pitch would have the opportunity to get his revenge on Jaime and possibly the other kids. We've got to go now!"

Realizing it as well North made sure that everyone was in the sleigh, snapped the reigns and making the reindeer fly forward, and used another snowglobe to get to their new destination. Seeing that her enemies had disappeared, getting the clue that they figured out what was going on, Nyreena huffed an aggravated sigh then ordered her forces, "Nightmares, return to Master Pitch's side immediately! We must give him all the power he will need for the next battle with those impossible fools!"

Snapping her fingers again they all swirled around into a tight black cloud and shot down to the dark landscape below, quickly making their way to Burgess as well to serve their leader's dark purpose.


	10. A Small Glimmer of Hope

As the sleigh flew out of the snowglobe portal and soared over Burgess everyone could feel the thickness of the tension in the air. They could only figure that Pitch was somewhere around town moving forward in his plan to get his revenge. Landing the sleigh on top of an abandoned building everyone climbed out and grouped together, quickly teaming up into groups of two to cover more ground and hopefully find their enemy before it was too late. Teaming up with Sam Bunny pulled her onto his back and headed across the rooftops at an amazing speed. Wanting to work with Tucker Sandy helped him up onto his sand cloud and the two took off across the skies. Pairing up Tooth and North took to the streets leaving Jack, Danny and Baby Tooth as the last group. The two beings taking to the air Jack led Danny straight to Jaime's house, wanting to make sure that his first believer was okay and not in any danger. Having to travel across town they arrived at the two-story house and the duo hovered in front of Jaime's bedroom window, looking in and seeing the young boy sitting up in bed and shaking in fear with the same expression on his face. Quickly getting worried Jack tapped on the glass with his staff, getting Jaime's attention right away then opening the window letting himself and the others in. Seeing who was at his window Jaime's expression brightened immensely, quickly climbing out of his bed and hugging Frost while saying, "I'm so glad that you're here. What took you so long to get here?"

"We had a bit of detour that we had to take care of," Jack replied while kneeling down and looking Jaime in the eyes. "But we managed to clear it up and we got over here as quick as we could."

Nodding to agree that it was alright and that he understood Jaime looked over at Danny, gave him a funny look, then asked him, "Why do you look like that? I thought you had black hair and blue eyes. Are you in a costume or something?"

Feeling a sting of fear rushing through his body Danny had to come with something on the spot really quick to cover for his ghostly half. Hoping to think of something really quick an idea popped into his head and immediately said, "I think you've got me confused with someone else, kid. I've always had white hair and green eyes."

"Uh, yeah, I'm pretty sure that you had black hair and blue eyes when we met earlier this afternoon," Jaime contradicted, seeing straight through Danny's improvised lie.

Quickly trying to come up with another excuse to cover him Danny realized that this kid was just going to see through it again. Sighing in defeat he explained, "Well, I guess that trying to tell you another lie isn't going to work out so the only thing that I can do is tell you the truth. You see, my friends and I are from another dimension and we're here to rescue another friend of ours from Pitch who has taken her prisoner and has somehow brainwashed her to become his evil servant. The reason we were in town is because we got thrown out of the sleigh while being attacked and were waiting for our pick-up. I guess now would be a good time to apologize for scaring you and your friends when we did."

"Are you kidding? That was awesome!," Jaime replied in excitement. "At first I thought it was Jack who was doing it but how you did it was so cool! How did you do it by the way?"

"Well, you see I'm what they call in my dimension a halfa which being half-human and half-ghost," Danny said with a bit of a smile, admiring the kid's fascination. "I would go into detail on how it happened but we are kind of pressed for time."

Nodding in agreement Jack asked, "Danny's right. What exactly happened to you in your dreams?"

Understanding the press for time Jaime calmed himself down and said, "It must have been a while since I fell asleep and I was having a really awesome dream with you and Santa and then suddenly everything went black and all I could hear was Pitch's laugh echoing through my head. It got so loud and intense that I couldn't take anymore and I woke up with shivers going all over my body. It was then that I knew that I needed to call you here. And I think the others might be in trouble, too."

"Then let's go check up on them and see if they're having bad nightmares as well," Jack said while coming up beside the bed. "Come on, Jaime. How about a free flight on the Frost Air Express?"

Nodding eagerly in agreement Jaime climbed onto Jack's back and with a confirming nod from Danny all three took to the skies, quickly flying to each of Jaime's friends' houses and after looking in through each of the kids' windows it was surprising to say that they were all sleeping sounding with Sandy's dream sand all floating above their heads. Confused about this turn of events the trio were unsure of what to do Danny suggested, "Well, that was sort of....unexpected. How about we go and try to find the others? They might have some clues that we don't have."

"Sounds good to me," Jack agreed, taking the lead and starting to look for his fellow Guardians.

As they flew out into an open area of the sky with flat rooftops below them what they never expected was that they had just flown right into Pitch's trap that both he and Nyreena had constructed together in secret. Just as they flown into the right position they appeared along with a small mass of skeletal Nightmares surrounding them in a complete circle. Shocked by the sudden appearance both beings turned to look at Pitch who was smirking in satisfaction at how well his snare had worked so well he remarked, "Well, isn't this something. You cannot believe how long I've been waiting for this wonderful moment to pass. Now that it has, I can finally begin to acquire all that is rightfully mine. Nyreena, Nightmares, you may begin."

Bowing her head and smirking the same way as her master Nyreena snapped her fingers and lead the advance on the trio. Both spirits knowing that this was more than what they could handle Danny asked Jack, "Um, you wouldn't happen to have a last-minute plan on hand, would you?"

"Um, well, ah," Jack mumbled while his mind was racing to come up a quick solution when suddenly one hit and he replied, "Oh wait, I got one! You better cover your eyes for this. It's going to be a little bright around here."

Waiting for the other two to do as he said the moment they were ready he thrust his staff high into the air and emitted a powerful blast of icy light that acted as a beacon to the rest of the Guardians and Team Phantom to their situation and a means of a distraction for their enemies. As soon as it burst open both Pitch and Nyreena shielded their eyes from the bright light, giving the trio the chance to fly out of the circle at breakaway speed. Once the light had dispersed and Pitch saw that his enemies had escaped he growled in frustration and cried, "Arrgh, you fools! You let them get away! Fan out, find them! And if you do, destroy them and any of the other Guardians and their 'companions'"

Watching the Nightmares fly out to complete their command he noticed Nyreena do the same thing, quickly reaching out and grabbing her arm to stop her. Feeling her arm suddenly being pulled from behind she turned to look at her master and with a confused look she asked, "Master Pitch, what's wrong? Is there something that I did to displease you?"

"No, not at all my dear," Pitch answered serenely. "I do however have a special job for you to do. I want you to circle around the area, take our enemies from behind and snatch the boy the first chance you get. As soon as you do I want you to bring him back to me as quick as possible. Do you understand?"

"Of course, Master," Nyreena agreed with an evil smile. "I promise to not let you down at all."

"That's my good servant," Pitch praised darkly. "Now go and be quick about it."

Nodding in agreement Nyreena flew off into the opposite direction, flying out a good distance then circling around at top-notch speed to find and catch her prey. Meanwhile as the trio were skimming across the rooftops the sounds of very quickly thumping feet could be heard coming up beside them. Turning to see who it was they found that it was Bunny, with Sam riding on his back, bounding his way over to join up with them. As the threesome became a quintet Bunny told them, "We saw your signal shoot into the sky, mate. What's seems to be the problem?"

"It was Pitch," Jack replied. "Apparently he had orchestrated the entire thing to ambush us and get his revenge on Jaime and the kids."

"Well, it was a good thing you got away when you did," Bunny replied in a relieved tone. "Come on, let's get back to the others and get a strategy planned in case for another attack."

Just as they were moving on Danny's ghost sense went off, making him look back, see a group of Nightmares coming right at them, and called out, "That may have to wait. We've got Nightmares incoming!"

The rest of the group looking back and seeing the skeletal creatures quickly approaching they all turned back and began driving them back by either ecto energy, ice, boomerangs, or a Fenton Ghost Ray. As they fought the group continued on their way across the rooftops trying to find the rest of their comrades. However what they didn't know was that Nyreena was waiting just up ahead invisibly, ready to complete her task before they realized what had just happened. As they were passing below her she quickly revealed herself, grabbed Jaime by his sides which pulled him off of Jack's back, and quickly began flying back to her master. Suddenly feeling his passenger being taken off his back Jack quickly turned around in the air and saw Nyreena speeding away he called to the others, "Guys, Nyreena's got Jaime! We've got to go after her! Now!"

Not waiting for a response he took off after them, at the current moment only caring about rescuing his first believer more than anything else. As Nyreena was making her getaway she sensed the winter spirit coming up behind her, not surprised that he would be coming after her. Looking behind her to see how far Jack was behind her she smirked as she quickly got an idea, picked up a bit more speed then turned invisible as well as her captive to throw Frost off of her tail. Suddenly watching her disappear Jack was thrown for a total loop and he had no clue where Nyreena had gone to. Ducking down into an alley she landed and backed up against a wall, watching and waiting for her pursuer to pass over and continue on his wild goose chase. Once she saw Jack's white hair fly over she waited a few more seconds to make sure that he was really gone then she dropped Jaime, returning his visibility then backed up a few steps, summoning black sand to cover her hands and transform them into claws then slowly walked towards him her objective to make him as scared as she could make him so that her master would be able to have his revenge. Getting up and trying to back up to the wall as close as he could Jaime was trying his best not to let his fear get the best of him but seeing the terrifying look on Nyreena's face it was getting harder and harder for him not to be afraid. Hoping that it could help calm him and try to break through to the real ghost inside he tried to reason, "Look, I know that you've been brainwashed and you're acting like someone you're not supposed to be. But you've got to know that your friends are trying to do all that they can to help you get back to normal as well as the Guardians. They're all wanting to save you from Pitch's darkness so that you can be yourself again."

Just as Nyreena was about a foot away from the boy, her hands held up high in a menacing form what he said made her stop in her tracks and think about what he just said. As she let the words sink in her mind was racing with confusion, trying to figure out what the kid was trying to get at. Retreating back her head was feeling like it was about to explode from the pressure of something trying to fight its way through. About ready to scream in pain she suddenly sensed a presence behind her and turning to see who it was made the pressure die back down and return to the dark depths within her. Stepping aside to let her master step forward Pitch appeared from the shadows and after giving his servant a glare that made her cower in fear he looked at Jamie and growled while slowly advancing, "Now that I have you right where I want you I will prove to you that I am the only thing that you should fear and fear alone. Now stand still, because once I'm through with you I'm going to find your friends and make them pay for standing against me and my power." 

When he was only half a foot away from his victim Pitch was about to attack when out of nowhere a ghost ray and a boomerang knocked into the master of nightmares sending him sprawling down the alley. Seeing her master being attacked Nyreena quickly went to his side to see if he was alright. Helping him lean up the two beings of the shadows saw that Danny, Sam and Bunny had found where they were hiding and had intervened just at the right moment. Watching the three come up and stand behind Jaime to protect them Pitch and Nyreena got to their feet and were about to begin their offense when the sound of heavy bootsteps and fluttering wings behind them made them turn to see who it was and found that it was North and Tooth who found out what was going on thanks to Jack who had found them and filled them in on the situation. Glaring at them with pure hatred Pitch was ready to order his servant to attack when a golden glow quickly came from above that was all too familiar. Looking up he saw Sandy along with Tucker and Jack descending from above surrounding the duo from all sides. Growling in annoyance that his plans for revenge were no more he grabbed Nyreena by the arm and threatened, "Well, this was a great effort from you all but I still have my prize in hand. Be warned, this is far from over. Very far!"

With that he walked backwards while pulling Nyreena along with him and disappeared into the shadows retreating for the moment. Watching them take their leave Jack walked over to Jaime, knelt down in front of him and asked, "You alright, Jaime?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Jaime replied, breathing deeply a few times to help him relax. "You guys got here just in the nick of time. Another second and I probably would have been a goner."

"Well, we're all glad that you're safe and sound, kid," Danny said, saying what was on everyone's minds. "Hopefully seeing our friend in the state she is now didn't shock you too much, I hope."

"Actually, it kinda did," Jaime admitted without remorse. "I had no clue that she was going to be that...well, to be honest, scary. She really looked like she was one of Pitch's minions."

"Yeah we're still trying figure that one out," Danny remarked, that little conundrum troubling everyone. 

Understanding how that could be troubling Jaime knew just the thing that could cheer the entire team up. Coming right out with it he informed, "I think I may have been able to get through to her."

"Wait, what?," Jack asked, both not believing what his first believer just said and getting a small glimmer of hope. 

"Yeah, right after we landed in the alley and she was walking towards me I tried to come up with everything that I could to say to her that might be able to break through to her," Jaime responded getting a bit more eager with his explanation. "At first it was starting to really work but somehow Pitch managed to show up and break the connection that I was making."

"So if you were able to, at least, manage to get through to Nyreena even for only a very short time, then that means she must be fighting the control that Pitch has over her," Tucker surmised. "However, for him to show up right as you were starting to break down those barriers means that he must have sensed the power over her faltering and came to correct the issue. He's probably increased it by now so that it wouldn't happen again."

"You may be right, Tuck," Danny agreed. "It just means that we're going to have to come up with a better solution or wait until the time's right and the signal comes."

Everyone else murmuring their agreements Bunny saw that Jaime's eyes were growing heavy with sleep and figured that it was time to get the kid home so that he could get some sleep. Motioning for Jack to pick up the kid he suggested, "Alright mate, I think you've had enough of an adventure tonight. I'm sure that Jack will get you home safely and without losing you again. Be sure to tell the little ankle biter I said hello."

Yawning a big yawn as he was hoisted up onto Jack's back once again Jaime said sleepily, "Don't worry, I will. Sophie loves it when she knows that you're thinking of her."

Making sure that the kid was firmly hanging onto him Jack looked at Danny and asked, "Mind coming with me for backup?," to which the halfa nodded in agreement to then the two took off to the air while the others headed back to the sleigh to wait for them. The trio quickly flying through the air they made their way back to Jaime's house as fast as they could in case Pitch's forces were still watching. Reaching the house without a single complication they headed straight for the still-open window, where Baby Tooth remained just in case trouble arose and wouldn't be in the way or if Pitch still harbored some ill feeling towards her and her sisters, sailed in and landed inside Danny helping to get the now fast asleep kid off of Jack's back and into bed, pulling the covers up over him and making sure that he was comfortable. Just as they saw that everything was the same as when they arrived Jaime woke up a little bit and quietly said, "Thanks for helping, guys."

"No problem, Jaime," Jack replied with a smile. "Now, if Pitch decides to come back for you you call me and we'll all be right here ready to defend you and your friends. Okay?"

Jaime nodding in agreement he quickly fell back asleep and soon enough a cloud of Sandy's dream sand was floating about his head while he dreamed of flying with Jack and Danny. Both beings smiling at this they quietly took their leave, flying back to where the sleigh was parked and once joining up with the rest of the team North snapped the reigns and the reindeer took off for the sky making their way back to the Pole.


	11. Seeking The Power to Change The Fates

As soon as he returned to the lair Pitch was fuming mad at how he had to retreat and possibly lose the one advantage that he could have gained in defeating the Guardians and the teens that came to rescue their friend. Speaking of which Nyreena was back up against the wall on her knees and shaking in fear knowing that she was in big trouble with her master for one reason only. As she was scaring her captive into submission Jaime, Jack Frost's first believer, was spouting all kinds of what was nonsense to her but then it started to make some sort of sense to her, making her stop and think about what was being said. It was then that a searing pain ripped through her head, as if there was something buried deep within her mind that was trying to break itself free. It was at that moment when she was about to scream in pain that Pitch appeared having sensed something going wrong and with a simple terrifying glare was able to subdue whatever was trying to push its way out and bury it back deep within Nyreena. Now, having to retreat from the fight before he could get his revenge, he was having to contend with his fury while having to lecture his servant for her poor performance on the battle field. As he paced back and forth in front of her he remarked, "I cannot believe that you would let a little boy be able to crack you like an egg like that. You are supposed to be the toughest and strongest servant in my arsenal and not let anything affect you like it did tonight. You have severely let me down, Nyreena."

Crouched in a ball as she was being told of what she had done wrong Nyreena had looked up after he was finished speaking and begged, "Please, master. I know that what I have done has displeased you and I want to do anything I can to make up for my mistakes. Please, give me a second chance. Anything task you give I will complete it with flawless results. Please."

Only listening to half of his servant's pleas Pitch was trying to come up with the perfect punishment when his thoughts had turned to the idea of all the possibilities of success if only there weren't anymore Guardians chosen to deal with and destroy his schemes. The more he thought about it did his eyes glow brighter with the prospects of this new plan. Stopping right in front of her he replied, "Very well, then. If you want to prove to me that you can do your job and do it right I just might have the task that might prove to me how well you can. I want to you to sneak into North's workshop and find out the source of how the Guardians are chosen. Once you retrieve this information you must come straight back here and report to me what you have found out. Can you do this for me?"

Elated that she was given the chance to truly prove herself Nyreena shot to her feet and quickly agreed, "Yes, of course Master. I promise not to fail you a second time."

"Good now leave, quickly," Pitch ordered while turning away from her. "And remember, this is your one and only chance. Your only chance."

Bowing to acknowledge her warning Nyreena quickly took off to the shadows leaving Pitch to stare at his Globe and grin evilly at the thought of finally possessing the key knowledge of taking down the Guardians forever.

Meanwhile as the sleigh was traveling back to the North Pole Team Phantom were talking with each other on how much their friend had changed in such a short amount of time, from being the sweet strong-willed girl to the nasty brainwashed ghost she was now. And was still after the fact that she was being controlled by the king of all nightmares. They could only figure that this was the evil nature she was so afraid of slipping into, since she never talked about it with them, and it had trapped her true self deep within her. But with the fact that she was trying to fight it and break herself free gave them hope that she just might be able to be her old self again in a matter of time. As the others were listening to the three talk amongst themselves Jack was sitting on the back of the sleigh, his hood on his head again, as he watched the scenery pass by below. In his mind the memory of him and Nyreena on the mountainside was playing over and over again, her voice echoing through his head about how she was trying everything she ever did to stay good and not fall down the dark path her ancestors took. He was still unable to believe that due to Pitch and his power it was able to unleash that fear, make it into a tangible thing and make it possess her, turning her into the monster that she is now. While he continued to think he kept hearing his name being called but didn't know who was calling until it got louder and louder and suddenly Jack was snapped back to this sense when he recognized Danny's voice asking, "Jack, I've been wondering how exactly did you become a Guardian in the first place?"

Turning around to face everyone, sighing a bit at the same time, he responded, "Well, it actually started when I was watching Sandy's dreamsand come about like it always did when suddenly out of nowhere this blur sped past me grabbing my attention and making me follow it to a back lot where lo and behold the Kangaroo over there appeared out of nowhere then suddenly I was tossed into a sack and brought to the workshop. After climbing out North told me that I was chosen to be a Guardian, and after a rather unexpected performance by the elves, I told them that being a Guardian wasn't for me. It was after a discussion between me and North that we headed off to Tooth's palace to see what was going on there and as soon as we came out of the portal we were met with a whole horde of Nightmares that were capturing all the fairies and stealing the teeth. Once we faced Pitch and he told us that he was going to make all the children of the world stop believing in us he managed to get away and after landing near the mural that depicts her gathering the teeth from kids I found out that she had my baby teeth from before I had become Jack Frost which was the key to find out who I really was. I then agreed to help collect the teeth to help Tooth from losing her powers, and an encounter with Jaime that ended with a pretty funny sight that I will have to tell you about later, Sandy and I went after a Nightmare that led us all over town and to another run-in with Pitch that set off a huge fight that ultimately ended with Pitch destroying Sandy and I discovering how powerful my powers really were. After holding his memorial did we head down to the Warren, where we discovered that Jaime's little sister Sophie had made her way there, and helped Bunny finish getting ready for Easter. Needing to take Sophie home I agreed, with a little convincing, to take her back and after getting her to bed a strange voice started calling me and it drew me straight to Pitch's lair where he tried to convince me with my baby teeth to step away from helping the others but I refused to and he in turn destroyed all of the eggs and baskets and the kids' belief in Bunny. After meeting up with the others they found out where I was and no longer trusted me before I could get in a word edge wised to explain what had happened. So, seeing that I wasn't wanted around anymore, I took off for Antarctica to once again be by myself like had been for over 300 years."

By then the sleigh had arrived in the launch bay and as everyone climbed out and headed up into the workshop Jack continued, "While I was in Antarctica I was trying to decide whether or not to throw away my teeth because I was so frustrated by what had happened. It was that moment that Pitch's voice came out of nowhere, which was something that I really didn't need to hear at the time, and he tried telling me how much he and I were alike with not being believed in and wanting to be seen. But I really didn't want to listen and I fought with him and in the end both our attacks clashed together and made this towering spire of ice and black sand. And he still kept trying to get me to join him but I refused him at all ends because I wanted to be believed in instead of feared of. Seeing that his plan wasn't going the way he wanted he changed tactics and revealed that he was holding Baby Tooth hostage and the only way that he would release her was if I gave him my staff, which happens to be my source of power. And I knew that I had no choice in the matter so I handed it over only to discover that I was duped into giving it up. After he threw Baby Tooth into a crevasse he broke my staff, blasted me into the same crevasse, then tossed my broken staff in before disappearing. Right then I had never felt so low in my life but with Baby Tooth's help she encouraged me to unlock my memories and I remembered that I was in fact mortal and had saved my sister from falling through the ice on the lake we were skating on. The Man in the Moon saw this and recognized my heroics by changing me into a winter spirit and choosing me to be a Guardian. Realizing this helped me believe in myself again and I was able to fix my staff and get out of there with Baby Tooth, heading straight for Pitch's lair to free the rest of Tooth's fairies. Getting there as fast as I could I saw that I was too late as I found out they couldn't fly at all. Then I saw that almost all of the lights on Pitch's globe were going out except for one: Jaime's. Knowing that I had to get to him as fast as I could I left immediately and got to his house just in time to save his belief in Bunny and even got him to believe in me by making it snow in his room. It was then thanks to him and his friends who were able to believe in us again, restore everyone else's powers and bring Sandy back to life. After that we confronted him one last time and watched as his Nightmares turned on him and dragged him back to his lair, sealing him away forever. Once that was done North asked me if I was ready to take the Oath and with nod from Jaime I accepted my responsibilities as a Guardian and it's been history ever since."

As Jack finished his story the group had reached the Globe Room and had gathered around the large circle in front of the control panel where North explained, "And this is where the Guardian Stone resides, a giant crystal Manny uses to show us who he has chosen as a new Guardian. The crystal is very sacred and we've used all precautions to make sure that Pitch never finds this very important tool."

However, what North, or that matter anybody, realized that any precaution could run out at any time and that time was certainly now. Having arrived at the same time as the sleigh Nyreena was moving from shadow to shadow following the group as they were heading up towards the Globe Room. She had to make sure to keep her distance especially from Danny just in case his ghost sense managed to pick up on her. As they moved up the higher levels she was starting to see that there were less and less shadow for her to hide in which was growing into quite the concern for her. When they reached their destination Nyreena was trying to scramble for anything she could use as cover and wait for one of them to slip the information she was desperately needing to bring back to Pitch and redeem herself. As if by some strange luck a yeti had stopped to watch the group enter the room and see what they were talking about. Seeing that he had a good-sized shadow she quickly jumped into it and didn't have to wait long when she heard North's voice say something about a Guardian Stone and how it was used to show who was chosen as the next Guardian. Her silver-yellow eyes glowing bright with joy that her mission was a success all she needed now was a way to get over to a well shrouded area and slip away unnoticed. But by the way the yeti was staying still and not moving on this was definitely becoming a problem. As she was trying to figure out what to do a little group of elves were walking by and seeing their clustered shadows forming a holey mass she figured she had no other choice in the matter. Waiting for them to pass by at the right moment she jumped in, having to twist and turn as much as possible to stay within the borders of the small shadows.  
It was at that moment that Jack had noticed the elves walk by out of the corner of his eye when suddenly something grabbed his full attention. As they were passing by he had noticed that part of their shadows had blurbed out then suddenly shrank back in. Getting very suspicious about this he turned and walked towards them just as they were about to walk out of sight, calling at the same time, "Uh, hey, little guys. Do you mind coming back over her for a minute?"

Hearing them being called over by the winter spirit the elves turned around and started to walk back which made Nyreena severely alarmed that she had just been caught. Scrambling to find a way out she saw a deep shadow created by the wooden framework and dove right in, hoping that she managed slip away just in the nick of time. Looking back at the others to say without speaking that he had the suspicion that something was lurking around Jack had missed Nyreena jump into the bigger shadow and returned his attention back to the elves just as she escaped. Watching their shadows very closely to see if he could notice anymore movement Jack concluded that there was nothing wrong with them and sent them on their way. However, his suspicions were still troubling him and he walked a bit closer towards the shadow of the framework, the sound of his footsteps coming closer and closer making Nyreena cringe further and further into the darkness. Feeling like time was frozen for a few seconds Nyreena relaxed a little when she heard Jack walking away and telling his companions that it was probably his imagination playing tricks on him. Silently breathing a sigh of relief she smirked in satisfaction that her mission was a complete success she faded into the shadows and quickly traveled through the darkness straight back to the lair. Reaching a tunnel in a matter of no time she quickly made her way to the center where as soon as she entered Pitch appeared beside his Globe and asked her, "Well, did you complete your task as you promised you would?"

"Yes, Master, I have," Nyreena answered while getting down on one knee. "What I have found out is that there is this giant crystal called the Guardian Stone hidden in the highest levels of the toy factory. As I overheard the toymaker said that the Man in the Moon uses it to show who he has chosen to be as the next Guardian. And that's all that was said about it, Master. Every last word."

As Pitch listened to what his servant had to say he could already see the final calculations of his master scheme fall into place, using this key piece of information as the ultimate climax in his battle plans for the final massive assault against the Guardians. Once Nyreena finished speaking Pitch grinned in satisfaction and told her, "Oh, Nyreena, now thanks to you all that I have ever planned for will soon come to fruition and at last victory will be mine."

Walking over to Nyreena, motioning for her to stand up and grasping her shoulders he continued, "And as reward for all of your hard work you shall remain by my side forever as I rule all three worlds in fear and darkness forever."

Elated at this the brainwashed princess wholeheartedly nodded in agreement then the two began walking towards a tunnel with dozens and dozens of regular and skeletal Nightmares surrounding and following them at the same time as the multitude made their way to the North Pole, the climatic battle between good and evil soon to begin.


	12. The Penultimate Showdown

A few hours later everyone was lending a hand to help North's workers finish all the toys and meet their last minute deadlines. Danny and Sam were running supplies to certain stations, Tucker was helping with technical aspects of a certain toy, Bunny and Tooth were helping keep an eye on the elves and try not to let them cause any trouble, Sandy was snoozing by the giant fireplace and North directing everyone as usual. Given the chance to get his head in order Jack was sitting on the railing up on a higher level and mostly staring into space. As his thoughts were mostly consisting of seeing nothing there was one thing that was odd about his surroundings. There was a strange and eerie howling that was coming from behind the Globe that he couldn't help but recognize. The sound getting everyone else's attention the other seven gathered together in front of the Globe just as the howl got extremely louder then suddenly an entire armada of Nightmares, both regular and skeletal, came out from behind and flew straight for the combined team. Unprepared for the sudden onslaught the team quickly dropped to their battle stances, Danny going ghost at the same time, and began to fight just as the Nightmares made contact with their blows.  
As the army was busy pushing the heroes back down below on the lower levels Pitch and Nyreena were walking up taking their time so that their masses would be able to drive the Guardians and Team Phantom away from the Globe Room giving them total control to complete part of the plan that was key to ensure the Nightmare King's absolute victory. Hooked arm in arm the air around them was nothing but confidence and satisfaction that they would emerge victorious. However what they didn't know was that Jack's suspicions from earlier were still troubling him and seeing the Nightmares appear only confirmed that what he saw in the elves' shadows was in fact was real and not his imagination. Taking off from the railing to see how his companions were fairing, and not seeing his arch nemesis among his army, he shot into the air then dove down towards the lower floors hoping to find who he was looking for. It wasn't long before he saw movement and found both Pitch and Nyreena slowly making their way up to the Globe Room. Seeing that he had to stop them before they got that chance he zoomed straight over, landed right in front of them and warned, "You two aren't going one step further. All of this ends now."

Giving Jack a rather hauntingly smirk Pitch replied in an almost chilling tone, "Well, if you're so insistent on stopping us then I'll be more than glad to face you one on one myself. Nyreena, my dear, why don't you go and see if you can lead our troops against those who thought could stand up against me again?"

Smiling evilly and nodding in agreement Nyreena gave her master a short bow then took off into the air leaving the two enemies to face off from one another. Each one waiting for the other to cast the first strike Jack asked with his anger as cold as his powers, "How could you? How could you turn such an innocent ghost like Nyreena, someone who has never done a thing to you, into such a monster that probably even worse than you?"

Actually taking delight in the question Pitch nonchalantly answered with a smile twitching at his lips, "Oh, isn't this a surprise? You caring so much about her well being makes me rather curious as to why. But being the, well, rather good sport about this I'll tell you why. When I first came upon her fast asleep in her family's castle I had absolutely no clue that I had actually stumbled upon the daughter of a king whose evil could even match my own. And after peering into her dreams I was able to find out that her greatest fear was her own evil being set free without any means of containment I saw it as the perfect opportunity for me to use it against you and the other Guardians and finally defeat all of you once and for all."

Driving his point even further, knowing that he could get under Jack's skin, Pitch added sinisterly, "And now, once she destroys the Guardian Stone, which is something that I know about now thanks to her superb spying skills, my evil influence will set into her permanently making her mine for all of eternity."

That doing the trick Jack's anger exploded like a raging volcano and he threw the first punch, so to speak. Quickly raising his staff he fired off a powerful blast of ice at Pitch to which he dove out of the way and blasted a cloud of black sand straight at Jack in return. Ready for the counterattack Jack jumped high into the air and destroyed the attack before delivering another ice bolt and taking to the air. Blocking the attack that was sent his way Pitch growled in annoyance and quickly followed after, riding a black sand cloud to catch up with the winter spirit. Turning around in the air, knowing that Pitch would follow, Jack gripped his staff tighter and fired several more blasts of ice that Pitch deflected and in turn cast his own attacks that Jack either dodged out of the way or deflected them with his ice. No matter what the two were evenly matched and it seemed like their battle would never end. Until a new voice came sailing in, "Hey, Jack! You need some help putting this guy on ice?"

Seeing that Jack could use some help getting an edge on his fight Danny had finished battling the group of Nightmares that had cornered him and flew up to join his fellow ice man in the fight. Sweeping away another black sand projectile Jack watched Danny fly up next to him and answered with a confident grin, "Now that I think about it, sometimes double the ice means double the cold hard victory."

Both nodding at each other they summoned the strongest ice they could muster and fired it straight at Pitch who tried to block it but was a second too late and was sent straight to the floor of the Globe Room, making everyone else that had been pushed out jump out of shock at what had just happened. Shaken by the force of the impact Pitch shook his head a bit and growing in anger he tried to get up but found to his shock that he was frozen to the floor thanks to the combined force of Jack and Danny's ice. As the two landed and faced him Pitch at first said angrily then with a sinister smile, "So, you both think that by freezing me to the floor can stop me from achieving my victory? Well, I'm afraid that you've forgotten the one key element to my schemes. Oh, Nyreena. Time for you to finish things once and for all!"

Hearing her master's command Nyreena materialized from the shadows she used to escape from when she was there last, a wicked smile etched on her face as she slowly walked towards the mural on the floor. Managing to finish off the last of the Nightmares the rest of the team regrouped and rushed to the Globe Room as fast as they could arriving just as Nyreena stopped and stood in front of the mural and as the Moon appeared in the skylight and illuminated the circle that held the Stone below the floor and making it rise into the air. Smirking in satisfaction Nyreena stared at the great relic while making a black sand scythe appear in her hand and slowly raised it up while the others watched with baited breath, only able to stare and wait for the inevitable and Pitch prepared to feel victory he hadn't felt since the Dark Ages. Just as she was ready to swing and slice the crystal in half suddenly, to no one's expectations, the moonlight quickly got brighter making Nyreena shield her eyes with her arm for a minute while grimacing in pain from the light then as her eyes adjusted to the brightness looked at the crystal again and was confused by the sight she was seeing. Illuminated in the Stone were four people that strangely resembled the dimension travelers even though the details were hard to make out. As she stared at the four Nyreena saw one that strangely looked just like her which threw her off quite a bit. However, the strange force that she had felt before had returned in greater strength and had used the distraction to its advantage and quickly overswept the evil influence, giving Nyreena's true self the chance to break free and scream, "Jack, blast the gauntlet, quick! Hurry, I don't have much time before the other me takes back over!"

Hearing the thing he was desperately waiting to hear Jack quickly floated over to stand directly behind Nyreena, took aim and fired straight for the gauntlet, this time the powerful bolt of icy light hitting its mark and destroying it for good, setting Nyreena free at last. The scythe disappearing from her hands Nyreena collapsed to the floor unconscious the impact causing her tiara to fly out of her hair while she had transformed back into her regular self. Watching with disbelief in his eyes Pitch's anger was slowly rising and rising as all of his hard work was destroyed right in front of him. Remaining still for a few minutes Nyreena slowly came around and leaned up mumbling, "Huh? Where am I?," then saw all the black sand that covered her and littered the floor did her icy blue gaze lit up with the memory of what had happened to her while she was brainwashed. Happy and relieved that the princess was alright Jack quickly went over to her and helping her up asked, "Nyreena, are you going to be okay?"

"Yes, yes I am," Nyreena answered, taking a moment to calm herself as she realized that she was herself again and free from Pitch's control. "Oh Jack, I'm so sorry for what I did to you and our friends. I want you to know that is the kind of person I've been trying to stay away from being and I hope that I didn't hurt you or anyone while I was under that terrible curse."

"Hey, hey, don't worry about it," Jack told her hoping that his words would give her some of her confidence back. "All that happened in the past and that's where it has to stay. I'm just glad that you're okay and you're back to who you really are."

About to cry from the heartfelt words the two were just about to draw closer together the sounds cracking ice caught their attention. Looking over to see where it was coming from to their shock it was Pitch who had broken free of his icy cage and flew himself at Nyreena, not wanting to lose again. However what he wasn't expecting was Nyreena to finally decide to finish things once and for all between her and him. Stepping away from Jack she faced Pitch head on an expression of unwavering determination and courage blazing through her eyes. Focusing her powers she created a ball of fire that shined as the brightest ray of light and blasted at Pitch, giving it everything she got in this one attack. Seeing the attack come right at him the Bogeyman had no time time to counter and was sent flying back into the wall being severely weakened at the same time. As he crumpled to the floor and struggled to get up Nyreena walked over to him and said, "Pitch, I think you know by now that you will never use me as part of your schemes ever again. However, I do want to thank you for something."

"And..what would that..be?," Pitch slowly growled as he contended with the pain that racked his body.

"For helping me to face my fears once and for all," Nyreena answered surprisingly calm. "And finally erasing them for good. Now I know that I can make a difference in my world without having to constantly worry about fearing that I would follow my ancestors' dark path at the drop of a hat."

Then kneeling down to look Pitch straight in the eye she added in a lower tone, "And if you ever decide to cross into the Ghost Zone again and I find out that you have returned to my realm I will personally make sure that you will leave with a few fears that even you have to hide in your heart forever."

About to give a snide remark back Pitch saw that the princess wasn't kidding around and by the mere chill of her threat made his fear rise ever so slightly making the last remaining Nightmares that were lurking in the shadows suddenly come out from hiding and swirl themselves around their master, raising him high into the air and sending him straight down into the darkest reaches of the workshop never to be seen again. Watching their enemy get swept up and carried away everyone breathed a huge sigh of relief glad that this catastrophe was finally over. Breathing the biggest sigh of all Jack had turned a bit and had noticed out of the corner of his eye that an elf had found Nyreena's tiara lying on the floor, picked it up and greedily admired it before starting to scamper off. Recognizing the elf as the one he had frozen when he had first came to the Pole he quickly and stealthily walked over, snatched the crown away and said, "I'll take that off your hands if you don't mind."

Jumping in surprise at what happened the elf quickly recognized who had scared him and ran away, not wanting to be turned into an elfsicle again. Chuckling a bit at the sight Jack turned around and walked over to Nyreena, stopping to stand right in front of her and jokingly said, "Hey, I think you may have dropped this."

Realizing that she wasn't wearing it Nyreena felt the top of her head and laughed a bit, "Oh my, I didn't even notice that I wasn't wearing it. Oh that is rather embarrassing. Well, since you found it would you mind doing the honors?"

Smiling softly Jack rested his staff against him, took the tiara in both hands and carefully set it back in place remembering how it was set in her hair then stared right into her icy blue eyes while slicking back a set of stray hairs behind her ear that were sitting out of place against her left cheek. Watching him place her crown back on her head she couldn't help but smile softly back at him then stare right back up into his handsome blue eyes and reacted to his touch as he slicked her hair behind her ear. Watching the two and knowing what was transpiring between them North coily smiled and said, getting their attention at the same time, "Now that Pitch has finally been defeated and the printsessa has been saved I believe Manny has shown us something very important." 

Moving over to the Stone he continued, "It seems to me that Manny has chosen a new team of Guardians to protect the Earth. But I believe not this Earth but yours."

Pointing out the reunited Team Phantom they all looked at each other with a bit of confusion as to why. Seeing this North motioned for them to come over and instructed, "Come, stand around the Stone and place a hand on it. All will reveal itself in due course."

All four unsure by this they gave each other reassuring looks then each placed their right hands on a different cut of the Stone, wondering what was going to happen next when suddenly a bright light emitted from the crystal as well as the moonlight that continued to shine now even brighter, enveloping the teens in both the glows. The flash of brightness only lasting a moment it was so bright that the Guardians had to block their eyes from the intensity but once the initial moment had passed they looked at the scene before them and watched in utter amazement at what was happening.


	13. The New Chapter in Their Journey

As Danny, Sam, Tucker and Nyreena were enveloped by the glows of the Guardian Stone and the Moon their physical appearance were being changed as well as being bestowed their Guardian powers by the Man in the Moon. Sam's hair had grown down to rest just below her shoulders and now had purple streaks going through it, her tank top had turned into a short-sleeved black dress with a purple shimmer and her green cross-hatched skirt turned into a long-sleeved undershirt, her black combat boots turned into a pair of black knee-high wedge boots with thin green vines twisting around them and the vines covered with tiny purple roses, a floral headpiece made out of the same green vine, this one a bit thicker, wrapped around itself to create three circles one larger than the last and held together by three dark purple roses and set in her hair and wore a chestpiece that covered her shoulders and had a capital G etched into it.  
With Danny a slimming suit of glowing armor had covered his jumpsuit which just so happened to look like the disguise he used to infiltrate Prince Aragon's castle, the only changes being that a shoulder pad was added and the spike were removed. The second addition was an open-faced helmet made of the same glowing metal adorned his head, an enchanted sword in a glowing gold scabbard slung from his waist, and he bore a similar chestpiece like Sam's with the same G etched into it.  
Tucker had received a major technological upgrade with his glasses getting outfitted to surf the web without a wi-fi signal and download anything. His body was outfitted with a mechanical suit that could produce any electronic piece of equipment with a simple thought and designed so that it wouldn't restrict him that glowed with techno blue circuitry all over it. His beret had even been turned into an electronic version that would be able to control his suit and glasses through his mental brainwaves. He too had gained a similar chestpiece along with the same G.  
Nyreena's sapphire blue hair had changed drastically being turned into a hue of black streaked orange and her icy blue eyes shift to a fiery orange yellow that burned like candlelight. The long-sleeved shirt and corset she was wearing had turned into a strapless flowy dark gray dress with a black collared bell-sleeved lace mini-top along with a orange-trimmed black sleeveless coat. Atop her head was a dark blue crushed velvet witch's hat with a crescent moon tassel hanging off the tip of it that rested off to the right side of her head. Her pants had shifted into black and blue striped tights and her high-heeled boots had adjusted slightly with one turning into an ankle boot and the other remaining the same and a bit of a curl had been added in the toes. Her chestpiece had appeared under her coat and of course it was just like her friends' chestpieces as well as the G. Along with this she gained an axe staff with the blade etched with a Halloween design and topped with a pumpkin and wrapped with the pumpkin's vine that stops in the middle.  
Sam was now Adamina, the Daughter of the Earth and chosen to be the Guardian of the Heart, Danny was Hyperion an ancient Greek Titan of light and was aptly chosen to be the Guardian of the Light, Tucker was now known as Cybermancer the master of technological magic and the Guardian of Creativity and Nyreena was now the newest spirit of Halloween known being given the name Tarot and was now the Guardian of Imagination. As soon as their transformations were complete the Man in the Moon silently told them that he had chosen them to guard over their Earth and protect it if Pitch ever decided to take his revenge and attack their home. He continued by saying that if ever they needed to access their Guardian forms they would do so by the pendants that the chestpieces transformed into along with the mantra "Guardians: United we rise!". Turning things over to North a yeti had brought over a very thick book and as he turned to the certain section in the book he explained, "And now it's time that you take our oath."

Once he reached it he looked at the four and asked, "Will you Hyperion, Cybermancer, Adamina and Tarot vow to watch over the children of your world, to guide them safely from the ways of harm, to guard their hopes, their wishes, their dreams? For they are all that we are and all that we will ever be."

The quartet looking at each other they smiled in agreement, looked back at North and answered in unison, "We will."

Smiling himself North congratulated, "Then congratulations you four, for you are now and forever more our fellow Guardians."

Everyone else cheering in agreement they gathered around the newest additions to their fold and congratulated them for the title that they earned. After a few minutes Team Phantom had returned to normal and as Manny had said the chestpieces turned into their respective pendants. Once everyone calmed down they looked around and saw that there was almost a lot of damage dealt during the fight, especially to the toys that decreased the projected quota that North had calculated to make for his one run of the year. Seeing this North only had to look at the others and they knew that he was going to need all the help he could get to get things back on schedule. Jumping right in everyone did their part in replacing the toys that were destroyed and making new ones to help the numbers stay on track. After several hours of hard work the quota was back on schedule and was even extended because so much was made.  
Seeing that everyone had deserved it North put together a grand celebration to honor everyone's hard work and for Nyreena to congratulate her for facing her fears and coming out of her experience as a better ghost with a clearer understanding of what her afterlife can be. As everyone was enjoying themselves Nyreena had gathered everyone's attention and said, "I really want to thank you all for what you did for me and my home. If it wasn't for your strong friendships and your major dedication I may have been lost to Pitch's, and my, inner darkness forever." 

It was at that moment that a green swirling portal appeared behind the group, the clear signal from Clockwork that it was time to go home. Really not wanting to leave but knowing that they had to Team Phantom said their goodbyes and started walking through the portal. Nyreena being the last one to leave suddenly on an impulse Jack quickly floated forward, stopped her by hanging onto her shoulder which made Nyreena turn around to look at him and he said, "Nyreena, before you go I need to tell you that meeting you has probably been the best thing that's ever happen to me since I woke up as Jack Frost over 300 years ago, well besides becoming a Guardian of course." 

Smiling at the comment, and not being able to help but blush, Nyreena returned, "Thank you for that, Jack. I never thought that one day I get to meet the actual Jack Frost and find him to be the most kind, caring, funny and amazing spirit I have ever seen."

Looking down at the ring on her right thumb, a simple band forged to look like hollowed out flames with sapphires set in the tips of the flames, she slid it off and taking Jack's hand she set it in his palm and closed his fist around it saying, "Here, take this to remember me by so that you can always remember what happened between us." 

Once she let go Jack opened his fist to study the ring, his eyes tracing the details of the flames and the sapphires and seeing Nyreena in the design. Placing the ring on his right middle finger he agreed, "Thanks. Now I will never be able to forget you." 

Looking straight into her own icy blue eyes Jack stared into them for a good several moments then unexpectedly leaned and kissed her much to the expectancy of the others who had figured out what was really going on between the two. As he continued to embrace her he slowly took her in his arms letting his true love for her show. Never expecting Jack to kiss her right out of the blue like that Nyreena was a bit startled at first but slowly yet surely she returned it and accepted Jack's love for her. Finally breaking apart the two stared into each other's eyes and softly smiled at one another, happy that they were in love. Pulling away from each other Nyreena formed a burning blue light in her hands and created five pendants for each Guardian and as she passed them out she explained, "If you ever need to come to my Earth in case we need help or you need to tell us of trouble here these will let you travel with ease."

Once her gift was passed out she said one final goodbye to her friends, and giving one more kiss to Jack, Nyreena stepped through the portal and joined the others along with Clockwork in his tower. Danny watching his friend finally coming through he asked her, "Hey, what took you so long to come out?"

"Oh, I just wanted to give something to our new friends in case they need to come to us for help," Nyreena answered with a coy smile on her lips. 

The other three wondering what she meant by that Clockwork came up to them and said, "Now that you've been given your Guardian powers and charged with protecting our Earth from the dangers children face and in case Pitch's forces of darkness ever show their faces you must hold your responsibilities to the highest level and never stray away from them and the oath that you have been sworn under."

The team nodding in agreement the master of time opened another portal and beckoned them through. Waving goodbye the quartet passed through and found themselves in Danny's room at the exact moment that they left for their mission. As time moved forward they all figured that Clockwork was really caring about them and didn't want their parents to worry where they were. As they were unloading their stuff Danny commented, "You know, now that we've all got new powers just imagine what we can really do as Guardians and as heroes now. The armor I got was so amazing! I just can't believe that it looked just like the disguise I wore when we broke into Aragon's castle."

"I know what you mean, man," Tucker agreed wholeheartedly. "The new suit, glasses, and hat I got are so cool! They're a techno-geek's dream come true!" 

"At least I was able to get powers that suited my personal tastes and views," Sam replied. "Being the Daughter of the Earth and still have my gothic look? The Man in the Moon really knew how to connect with me."

Fiddling with her pendant Nyreena said last, "Well, who knew that he would choose me to be the spirit of Halloween? I mean, even though I was born on Halloween, I never expected that I would get to represent it as its spirit. And did you see that axe staff? That thing was so awesome! I cannot wait to use that!" 

Not being able to help but smile Danny added, getting a bit serious at the same time, "Well, now that we do have our powers we've got to do all that we can to protect the kids of this Earth as well as train ourselves so that in case Pitch does decide to strike back in revenge we'll be ready for him with everything we've got."

The others nodding in agreement they stood around each other in a circle, put a hand on top of one another, looked at each other with a smile and cried, "Guardians: United we rise!," lifting their hands up into the air ready to begin their new adventures as Guardians and the newest heroes of the Earth and the Ghost Zone.


End file.
